


milf smackdown

by garlicbread, strawberriesNcigarettes



Series: the smackdownverse [1]
Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dramedy, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, chuu is An Actual Idiot, chuuves and lipsoul are filthy rich clowns, chuuves married, hyewon slowburn, jinsol is a mom but do not be fooled She Is Baby, jinsoul is an idiot, lipsoul married, principal haseul, set in a Southern California private middle school, viseul slowburn, yvesoul are competing PTA moms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 18:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 142,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18971026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garlicbread/pseuds/garlicbread, https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberriesNcigarettes/pseuds/strawberriesNcigarettes
Summary: Jinsol Kim and Sooyoung Ha are wealthy CEOs with extremely successful careers. However, one’s success often causes neglect in certain aspects of personal life - for Jinsol and Sooyoung, it’s their respective daughters. After relentless urging from their wives, Jinsol and Sooyoung both decide to take some time off and join their daughters’ middle school PTA, make up for lost time, and give Choerry and Hyejoo an unforgettably amazing 8th grade year.(If they don't kill each other first.)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Daniela (the funny one) and I have been putting our last brain cells together to construct this storyline for over a month now, so y’all better EAT IT! Inspired by this tweet [ https://tinyurl.com/y29936ft ], and many more like it. Enjoy!

“I just feel like there’s something off about her.”

Jungeun’s finger retreats from the doorbell as she turns to look at her wife, who is staring intently at the closed door to the modern home with narrowed eyes. The Southern California breeze blows gently through Jinsol’s blonde hair, Prada sunglasses resting on her head. She carries the large gift bag, while Jungeun holds a bouquet. “Who?”

“Sooyoung.”

Jungeun snorts and rolls her eyes. “You’ve never even met her.”

“I saw her! At the Gala. You know the one. She looks like she _knows…_ something.” Her wife giggles at the statement.

“You’re being ridiculous, Sol.”

Jinsol breaks her staring contest with the door to turn and crinkle her nose playfully at Jungeun. “You love it though.”

To which Jungeun blushes. “Yes... Yes, I do.” Years into their marriage will always melt away whenever she catches Jinsol looking at her the same tender way she did on their first date. Jungeun hastily steals a kiss before anyone can open the door.

And then, she remembers. Shifting uncomfortably, she says “Although there is something you should know about Sooy-”

 _“EEEEEEEEEE!”_ The giddy squeal is so loud that the door visibly vibrates. It swings open, and there stands sunshine herself - Jiwoo Ha, complete with her loose waves, strapless floral dress, and signature giant smile. “JUNGIE!” The bubbly woman practically jumps on her best friend, who reciprocates the affection with a warm embrace. “I haven’t seen you in so long! How’s the company? How’s Choerry? How’s - JINSOL!”

The blonde barely manages to choke out a greeting after Jiwoo envelops her just as tightly. Breaking away, she clasps her hands together, beaming at her favorite couple at her doorstep. “It’s so nice to see you both! Thank you for coming!”

“You know we’d never miss my goddaughter’s third birthday,” assures Jungeun endearingly.

Jiwoo welcomes them inside, and Jinsol takes in the multi-million dollar home in person for the first time. She knew from the magazine photos it had been featured in that the Ha residence was exceptionally lavish, but she didn’t expect it to this extent. The interior design was impeccable. Simple tones of black, white, and the occasional walnut wood framed the house, while gorgeous lush furniture was minimalistically arranged. And all around - glass, to view the evergreen shrouding the estate, the largest pool Jinsol has ever seen, and a massive pink bounce house that children are currently enjoying. Many more adults socialize outside, some family and some friends from work.

Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold” plays throughout the house’s built-in stereo system as toddlers run through the trio’s legs, Jiwoo’s homemade red velvet cupcakes in hand. The radiant hostess leads them to the center of the house, where the common areas are bountifully decorated with gold and pink. Lustrous balloons display the words “HAPPY BIRTHDAY HYEJOO!”

Jinsol spots the birthday girl dressed in a princess dress and tiara, playing with other girls on the floor. Jiwoo pouts upon seeing Hyejoo excitedly whip out a rubber snake, appearing to greatly enjoy terrifying the other girls in front of her. “Why is she not playing with the $400 doll I bought her?” Jinsol and Jungeun chuckle at the sight, and Jiwoo calls her daughter. “I hope you didn’t get her a doll in that big gift bag of yours.”

Jungeun and Jinsol share a knowing smile. “Oh don’t worry, we didn’t.”

Little Hyejoo comes running over to the trio, then clings to her mother’s leg. She practically hides herself behind Jiwoo, jet black hair falling to cover her face. With parted lips, she looks up curiously at the couple in front of her.

“Do you remember Auntie Jungeun and Auntie Jinsol?” Jiwoo asks. Hyejoo nods very slowly, not convincing anyone. “They brought you a gift!”

Jinsol takes a knee to meet Hyejoo’s eye level, and sets the sizable bag down in front of her. The blonde gives the toddler a kind smile, who begins to approach the bag. The three year-old looks up at her mother in uncertainty. “You can open it, princess,” Jiwoo whispers.

Hyejoo rustles through the wrapping tissue for a few moments, then gasps loudly. With wide eyes and a shocked smile, she pulls the large wolf plush toy out of the bag. Everyone’s heart warms at the little girl’s reaction as she hugs the wolf tightly in her arms.

“What do you say?”

Hyejoo is shy, and avoids eye contact with Jungeun and Jinsol. But she shocks them all when she runs straight into Jinsol’s arms, burying her face in the blonde hair. “Thank… you.” She says another thank you to Jungeun, who leans down and hugs her goddaughter tight, whispering a happy birthday. And just as quickly as Hyejoo came, she was gone, running off with the wolf plushie in another direction.

“I love her…” Jinsol says while getting back up.

Jiwoo smiles. “I think she loves you too. She threatened to stab me with her plastic fork when I told her she had to wear a tiara.”

“So… how’d you get it on?”

“Well, I had a steak knife, so.”

Jinsol stares mouth agape at Jiwoo, who reaches in to take the flowers graciously from Jungeun’s hands. She walks to place them on one of the many full tables of presents. Just then, another quartet of children flurry past the women, screaming. Jiwoo takes one look around the pandemonium before her, and offers to take them somewhere quieter to catch up.

And so they do - Jinsol and Jungeun follow Jiwoo to enter a spacious, octagonal sunroom extending out from the kitchen. The room has enormous glass walls, along with a door to enter the backyard. The women take their comfortable seats around the table in the center, bathed in the light streaming in from all directions.

“So...” Jiwoo smiles at them with bright eyes. “How’s my favorite couple?”

The blonde and brunette lock eyes and smile. They tell Jiwoo about their jobs, their daughter Choerry (who just turned three as well), and some of the chaotic antics that occur in their household. Jungeun looks to Jiwoo deadpanned and says “Jinsol is clearly the favorite parent. Last week she got her a zamboni. Who gets a three year-old an actual zamboni?”

“She _loves_ them!”

“We don’t even have an ice skating rink!”

“Well, we could install one.” Jinsol is entirely serious.

Jiwoo’s eyes dart back and forth, amused. “ _We are not installing an ice skating rink in our backyard._ ”

“I was thinking more of an expansion to the house-”

While Jungeun rejects her wife’s construction plans, Jiwoo hears the increasing, familiar sound of heels hitting the floor. She looks to the doorway to see her beautiful, stressed wife approach their kitchen counter. Jiwoo watches her slightly lean over, and take a breath with closed eyes.

“Is everything okay honey?” Jiwoo asks from afar. Sooyoung looks over to her, and instantly smiles in relief. Jiwoo beckons her to the room.

“I need a drink after that.” Jinsol stops fighting for the ice skating rink at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. She looks to the source, and is stunned when she recognizes the statuesque woman walking up to their table. From the way her long black dress gloriously accentuated her every curve, to her seemingly perfectly sculpted facial features, the woman was utterly magnetic - and Jinsol was speechless. She’d only seen Sooyoung Ha from afar, never this close. And in her proximity, the blonde could not possibly attribute anything to her aura other than sheer power.

Sooyoung was now at Jiwoo’s side, smiling down at her wife. “Everything’s alright now, just… That one kid with the Tupac shirt kept trying to steal Hyejoo’s presents.”

Jiwoo nods. “Ah. Yeojin.”  

Sooyoung’s attention shifts to the two women in front of her wife, eyes widening. “Is that… Jungeun Kim?!” She goes over to the seated brunette with a big smile and leans down for a tight hug, returned with matched energy by a giddy Jungeun. “And your hair is back to brown! I haven’t seen it like this since business school!”

Jinsol, ignored, pauses. _Wait... they’ve known each other since college?_ Sooyoung, after what feels like whole decades, finally notices her. “And you must be Jinsol!” She leans down to give Jinsol a hug, and Jinsol is thrown for a loop at her spellbinding musky scent. Her eyes widen, and she has to thoroughly talk herself out of completely smothering her face in Sooyoung’s hair. Her perfume is one of the best scents Jinsol has ever come into contact with, and she stares dumbfounded when she breaks away. “So nice to meet you, Jinsol. I’m Sooyoung Ha,” she says, with a voice like honey.

Jinsol rotates between wanting to say _I know_ and _Wow_ before finally just saying… “Yes.”

“What?”

“Yes I’m… uh.” Jungeun stares at her from behind Sooyoung with an embarrassed, _What are you doing_ smile. “I’m Jinsol.” She’s finally re-learned how to speak clearly, it seems, and extends out her hand. “Oh my God. Nevermind.” _Why would you shake her hand after you’ve already hugged her, you clown?_

Sooyoung just laughs, and the sound is simply angelic. “Let me just get a drink.” She steps away to the cabinet behind the blonde to pick out a bottle of red wine. Jinsol whips out her phone under the table.

 **Jinsol:** She smells like Fergie’s discography

 **Jungeun:** What does that even mean

 **Jinsol:** Fergalicious

 **Jungeun:** Stop

“Jungeun was just telling me about how Jinsol bought Choerry a zamboni,” Jiwoo chimes from the other side of the table, smiling.

Sooyoung stops pouring the wine into her glass and whips around, perfectly straight black hair swaying, and hitting Jinsol in the face. The blonde flinches, but the standing woman doesn’t seem to notice. “A… whole zamboni?”

“Yeah it’s just kind of… Sitting in our garage.” Jinsol stares into space and starts to truly realize that she bought her daughter a zamboni and has no place to store or use it. Maybe she should have thought this through.

The tall woman pulls her chair back to sit, subtly sliding her hand onto Jiwoo's thigh in seemingly one smooth motion. She still had not broken eye contact with Jinsol, staring her down in such a calculating manner that she swore Sooyoung was looking at her through a microscope. Her gaze is calm, yet analytical. Competitive. Jinsol has no idea why, but she can feel that Sooyoung is trying to pierce her surface.

“Isn’t that sweet honey? She already bought Choerry her first car,” Jiwoo says.

Silence.

Jungeun stares at Jiwoo, then at her wife, who is staring at the table wide-eyed and a smile threatening to ruin her straight face. “Jiwoo…” Jungeun doesn’t really know what to say. “You know what a zamboni is right?”

“Yeah, the Italian sports car?”

Jinsol has no idea how, but Sooyoung is still looking at Jiwoo like she is the best thing since sliced bread. “Baby, that’s a Lamborghini.”

“Lamborghini, zamboni, panini… they’re all vehicles it’s fine!”

Jinsol’s jaw drops and while the couple in front of them talk, she whips out her phone again under the table.

 **Jinsol:** I have to laugh

“So, Jinsol! What do you do?” The lesbian billionaire's Korean accent adds a sense of elegance to the question.

“Oh - I’m…” Why was this woman putting her at a loss for words for describing something as simple as her own job? “I’m the president and CEO of Aquarium of the Pacific.”

Sooyoung eyes flicker while the wine glass is pressed up to her lips. “Wooow...!” Jinsol can’t help but thinking that whatever exactly that was sounded a bit pandering. “That is impressive!”

“She’s a DOCTOR!” Jiwoo supplements.

“Of philosophy. In oceanography. What do you do?”

Sooyoung lets out a breathy laugh. “I’m actually president and CEO of Yves Saint Laurent.” _Saint Laurent. The_ _Saint Laurent_.  

 _Holy shit._ “So... that’s why you smell so good!” Sooyoung just laughs some more, while Jiwoo beams at her with pride. Jinsol has aspired, researched, and managed for years and years to get the life she has today, but for some reason hearing flawless Sooyoung’s airy laugh before her makes it all feel like child’s play. All she can do is stare at her, nervously paralyzed and awestruck.

“Where did you get your degree, doctor?”

“Johns Hopkins. But before that, I did my thesis at Harvard.”

“ _Really_ ,” Sooyoung says. “I spent some years at Harvard too!”

How uncanny, Jinsol thinks. _Is there a single flaw about her?_

Jiwoo and Jungeun share entertained expressions sipping from their wine glasses during their wives’ elitist exchange.

Jiwoo reaches for her wife’s hand and intertwines their fingers, then looks at Jinsol taking her first sip of wine. “Isn’t this world so crazy? Jungeun and I have been friends since high school, you and Sooyoung went to the same school, Sooyoung and Jungeun had a one night stand, and now we have kids the same age!”

Jinsol splurts out her drink.

***

It’s many hours and many MANY short, awkward conversations later when Jungeun and Jinsol Kim finally exit the Ha residence. The sky is dark, but bright lights on the ground outside the house light the way. In addition to illuminating the premises though, the lights also made clear the glare Jinsol had plastered on her face ever since she found out that her wife had slept with the owner of the property they were walking on.

“I tried to tell you!”

“ _When?”_

“Outside, right before Jiwoo opened the door.” Jinsol just sighs and drags her hand over her face in response, fighting the urge to just collapse on top of Sooyoung’s black Bugatti parked beside her.

“Baby, please.”

“This is so weird,” Jinsol murmurs, muffled and looking at Jungeun through fingers still on her face. Her wife softly smiles.

“It was once. During college. And it didn’t mean anything, we never became anything afterwards.” The brunette walks up to her on the driveway, gently grips her wrist, and slowly removes the hand from her face. She looks up at her wife and chuckles, cupping her cheeks. “You know that we’re married right? And that I have a daughter with you?”

Jinsol pouts, but leans into her favorite person’s touch. “I don’t… like the image in my mind of _Sooyoung Ha_ -”

“Jinsol.” The blonde stops avoiding eye contact to look at her wife, who is already gazing at her lovingly. Jungeun runs the pad of her thumb over Jinsol’s soft cheek, golden in the light. “There is no need to be upset over this. The only person I love more than anything in this world is you.” And with those words, Jinsol swears she feels her heart blossom within her chest. Jungeun will never cease to be the calm to her chaos, the medicine to all her worries, and her best friend through it all.

“I love you.” Jinsol closes the distance between them for a sweet, slow kiss. And Jungeun whispers the same three words on her lips.

When the shorter woman breaks away, she turns to walk down the lengthy driveway. “Come on, let’s go home.” Jinsol fishes her keys out of her purse, is about to follow her wife, but hesitates.

She remembers when high and mighty Sooyoung Ha said Spongebob is for losers. Jinsol is suddenly filled with immense rage that floods into her arms, and she can’t not flail them around.

“I JUST THINK IT’S _FUNNY_ HOW-”

**_SCREEEECH!_ **

Jungeun whips around at the noise, then gasps in absolute horror at what she sees. Sooyoung’s brand new black Bugatti now had a glaringly obvious, diagonal white cut spanning from the middle of the passenger’s door all the way to the bottom of the window. And right above it, frozen in place, was Jinsol’s hand and her sharp car key in it. She can’t even get the words out that it was an accident.

Jungeun has no idea how it happened.

All that she really knows is that Jinsol just keyed billionaire Sooyoung Ha’s new car.

Jinsol is petrified. Jungeun is in utter disbelief. The two take one look at each other - and they bolt to their car as fast as they can.

***

“Hi, I’ll order the Chef’s salad.”

“Jungie that is so rude... just order your own.”

Ten years later, and Jungeun still doesn’t know what to say to Jiwoo sometimes.

The waiter walks away with their orders, perplexed. The best friends sit across from each other in their favorite Koreatown café, catching up as they do every few weeks or so. Their plentiful shopping bags are strewn beneath the table in piles, and the heat of their latte cups warm their hands, cold from the rain outside. “Anyways, what was I saying?”

Jungeun takes another careful sip. “Hyejoo.”

“Oh yes! So our new babysitter keeps telling me that every time she tries to play with Hyejoo she gets told to die.” Jungeun snorts. “I keep telling her that she’s never going to get her to play. Who tries to play with a 13 year-old?”

“That sure sounds like Hyejoo.” Jungeun rests her heavy head on her palm, and nearly lets her tired eyes shut when the flashing of cameras outside grabs her attention. She sees a group of teenagers in raincoats outside the café window, excitedly taking pictures of them. She points them out amusedly to Jiwoo. “You sure have quite the fanclub now, don’t you?”

Jiwoo grins at them and does her world famous apple heart. Jungeun watches as the kids outside go wild and return the gesture. One of the giddy teen boys heavily breathes onto the café window and draws a gigantic heart.

“This is cult-like.” Jungeun smiles. Can she really blame them, though? She watched from the beginning as the world fell in love with Jiwoo as the legendary international baking sensation ‘Chuu.’ One day, Jiwoo was asking her how to make a Youtube channel. The next, a massive poster of Jiwoo’s holding cupcakes was scaring the shit out of her at the local grocery store.

As Jiwoo waves goodbye to the kids, she looks back to her best friend who seems to be falling asleep on her hand. “Jungie?” She shakes her head and apologizes. “Why do you look so exhausted!” Jiwoo grabs Jungeun’s hand from across the table, deeply concerned.

“I’m just a bit tired, Jiwoo.”

“A bit?”

“A lot,” Jungeun admits, looking away. “I’ve been trying to manage the bank and driving Choerry now that school’s started. And she needs to be there so early for all those clubs.” She smiles fondly, remembering how outgoing her daughter is. Even though she’s strict with her, she’ll always be proud of Choerry. But she slowly rubs her eyes with the pads of her fingers, and exhales. “And I don’t want to hire a driver because she already barely sees one of her moms as is.”

Jiwoo pouts at her and squeezes her hand. “Oh Jungie…” With her other hand, she reaches for her latte, trying to brainstorm a way out of her best friend’s predicament. “Have you talked to Jinsol about this?” Before the delivery of the question had even finished, Jungeun is shaking her head and shooing her idea away.

“She’s so busy with the aquarium, always in business meetings that run too late… And she can’t really... help it. I don’t want to bother her.” It’s on the tip of her tongue, but she doesn’t say it - she really, really wishes she had her help.

Jiwoo scoffs into her latte cup lid. “Reminds me of Sooyoung,” she remarks, barely audible.

Jungeun stops, eyes wide. “Wait-” Despite the countless times the two have shopped, grabbed coffee, and taken girls trips, this was one topic that they’ve remarkably never opened up about. The idea of Jiwoo being able to relate to this would take a big weight off her shoulders. “Really?”

“Yes! Oh my gosh! Always at work. And when she’s home… She never. Talks. To Hyejoo. I get that our daughter is… You know… Emo… But you should at least make the effort! Maybe she’s emo because her other mom doesn’t talk to her!” Jiwoo, clearly fed up, has Jungeun in complete shock. For over ten years, the brunette had always thought of those three as the virtually perfect, unproblematic family.

“Wow.” It’s all too familiar; Jungeun cannot believe her ears. “When Jinsol’s home, she doesn’t make an effort to spend time with Choerry either.”

“Now that surprises me. Jinsol always seems so thoughtful and loving.”

“She just… I don’t know. They used to be two peas in a pod, too. Best friends.” Jungeun stares to her side at the café window, covered in sinking raindrops. “I just don’t see her making effort to try and get that back.” The words hurt even more as she releases them into the air. With furrowed brows, she looks back at Jiwoo, who rubs her thumb over her best friend’s hand.

“Well, we’re in quite the pickle.” Jungeun nods at Jiwoo’s words, and the two reach for their drinks again.

And just like that, mid-sip, Jiwoo’s eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. “What?” Jiwoo is now clapping like seal. “Jiwoo, what?!” She gives Jungeun a mischievous smile, and all Jungeun can think of is that it’s the same smile Jiwoo had before she drilled 3 holes in her living room ceiling because she thought it would be better than an intercom. _“I have the BEST idea.”_

“Oh _God-”_

“We make them join the PTA.”

All Jungeun can think of is that she’s never heard anything more unthinkable in her life. And this is coming from the person who insisted to Jungeun that she caught the cold because her computer had a virus. “That’s never going to happen.”

“ _No!_ Jungieeee!” Jiwoo loudly slams her hand on the table, drawing the attention of everyone in the café. Jungeun puts her face in her hands. “Think about it. You and I both know that they don’t spend time with the kids anymore. And it’s eighth grade! Pretty soon they’ll be in high school and then college and then putting us in nursing homes and then we’re DEAD!”

“Jeez-”

“Jungeun Kim. This is such a great idea.” Jiwoo speaks with admirable confidence, but Jungeun is still wincing, unconvinced.

“They’d never willingly do that. They’re CEOs… You know they both just like to donate massively to the school from afar. And not to mention the fact that they… are not the best of friends...” Jungeun practically whispers the last words, as if someone was going to police her for discussing The Feud That Must Not Be Named.

“Then they can finally be friends!”

“Jiwoo. They don’t want to be.” Jinsol and Sooyoung? Working together? All year? Just the idea makes Jungeun shudder in fear of impending chaos.

“Well we can always trick them into joining.”

Jungeun laughs, looking away. “You’re crazy.”

“I’m serious.” And when Jungeun looks back at Jiwoo, she sees in her eyes that she really is. “Come _on!_ The unofficial first meeting where they go over the year’s events is Monday night, at that one Italian place. Let’s get them to go to that.”

Jungeun, shaking her head in disbelief, looks down at the table. She could never get Jinsol to come. But in response to her head shaking, all Jiwoo mischievously says is “I’ll do my part. I’ll guilt Sooyoung into coming.”

“I don’t… think-”

“Come on! Get Jinsol to come.”

Jungeun, with an incredulous expression, says “And so what if they do? That doesn’t mean they’ll do PTA.”

But the younger girl ignores her best friend’s pessimism. “Jungie. Please. This will be so fun.” Jiwoo doesn’t get a response. “The kids need this. We all need this.” Still nothing. “At least... think about it.”

And before Jungeun walks out of the café in the rain that day, she promises Jiwoo that she will. Even though she’s already 100% sure the answer will always be no.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this made you feel any positive emotion at all (and if you loved certain parts in particular) please let us know in the comments! Stay tuned... Much more to come!
> 
> find us on twitter
> 
> @jiwoosamo (Daniela)  
> @igbtchuuves (Cat)
> 
> ask us things  
> \- curiouscat.me/yoojungsua (Daniela)


	2. First PTA Meeting (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that it’s summer, updates will be coming more often! Also, this is not an Yvesoul romance fic THEY ARE MARRIED YOU WHORES

Jiwoo’s swift, rhythmic chopping of the vegetables is the only source of noise in the house before the front door opens. Heels hit the floor and she smiles, knowing just who it is without needing to look up.

She senses the taller woman enter the area in her peripheral. But instead of being greeted normally, she sees the fashion industry’s queen silently stroll behind her. Jiwoo can’t stop the goofy smile on her face as warm arms slowly slide under hers, enveloping her, Sooyoung’s body flush against her back. “Hi sweetheart,” her melodic voice soft by her wife’s ear.

Jiwoo puts the knife down, and rests her hands on top Sooyoung’s around her waist. Completely at peace, she relaxes into her lover’s embrace. “Hi,” she says in response, and Sooyoung can hear the smile in her voice.

She rests her chin snug on Jiwoo’s shoulder, and looks down at the colorful assortment of vegetables in front of her. “What are you up to?”

“Just a little meal prep for the week.”

“Can I have some?” Sooyoung jokes.

Jiwoo giggles. “You know I’ll always make some for you.” Sooyoung squeezes her tight and says a cheery little thank you. Jiwoo marvels at how lucky she is to have the most intimidating woman in the world reduced to nothing but sweetness, for her eyes only. “How was your day baby?”

She lets out a tired sigh. “It was okay. There are the incompetent men, as per usual,” she hums. “But it was good. Got to come home early.” Jiwoo’s breath hitches as she feels the woman’s lips suddenly ghost over her neck, then trail up to her ear. “I missed you, though,” she whispers, and Jiwoo hears the desire in every syllable.

The celebrity baker turns out of Sooyoung’s arms to face her, and she will never get bored of just how electrifyingly beautiful the woman she married is. Smirking, she runs her fingers up the taller woman’s toned arms over the thin dark blouse. “Aren’t you supposed to miss me every day?”

Sooyoung tucks the hair strands that have fallen from Jiwoo’s messy bun away from her face, lust dancing in her eyes. “You know I always do.” She closes the space between them to connect their lips with a deep kiss. Which quickly intensifies.

Soon, Jiwoo’s fingers are laced through Sooyoung’s hair, and the latter has her pressed against the kitchen island with hands roaming up and gripping the back of her thighs.

But before Jiwoo can enjoy herself too much, she remembers her brilliant plan of the year. “Wait, wait,” she says, breathy, breaking away. “I have to talk to you about something.”

The CEO pouts, clearly interrupted from getting what she’s been waiting for all day. “Can’t it wait?” she says in a low, assertive voice that makes Jiwoo shudder. As much as she wants it to though, she knows that her memory span of a literal baboon can’t let this wait for anyone.

“Nooooo, this is serious.” Sooyoung raises her hands to rest them on her wife’s hips, and nods for her to continue. “I… You’re doing PTA with me this year.”

Sooyoung stares at her, expressionless. And then, she begins to chuckle. “That’s a good one.”

Jiwoo doesn’t flinch. “I’m serious.” _How come no one thinks I’m serious?!_ Her wife continues to look at her in disbelief.

“...Oh no. Oh no no no.” Sooyoung laughs even more. The sound is fascinatingly both dulcet and mocking, increasing in volume even as she gracefully shields her mouth  with her hand. “I won’t do that.”

“And why not?” Sooyoung stops and widens her eyes at Jiwoo.

The smaller woman challenges her confidently. “You heard me.”

“I’m - not - I’m not,” to which Jiwoo interrupts by imitating the stuttering.

“Not answering the question.”

Sooyoung starts to stammer again, and Jiwoo clowns her until the taller woman flares her nostrils in frustration. Jiwoo lets out a sigh.

“Listen,” she commands, and Sooyoung clearly doesn’t want to. “Just come with me to the first meeting of the year tomorrow night. I already told the babysitter to come. Plus, you owe it to the PTA-”

“I don’t owe anything to them, Jiwoo. They already have thousands from me,” she says matter-of-factly, and Jiwoo rolls her eyes.

“They have thousands from you, yet I’ve been asked multiple times if we’re _divorced_ because they only ever see me.” Sooyoung looks away in quiet shame.

“Jiwoo… I don’t belong in PTA-”

 _“AAAAAARGH!”_ The piercing, animalistic scream coming from Hyejoo’s room upstairs reverberates through the walls and reaches the couple loud and clear. Neither of them are alarmed though; they know their daughter’s _I just got sniped_ scream when they hear it.

“See. Even she doesn’t want to hear your excuses,” Jiwoo adds with a proud smile, and her wife rolls her eyes.

“Speaking of Hyejoo… You don’t spend time with her.” The CEO immediately tries to interject, but Jiwoo continues. “She’s growing up right before our eyes, and you don’t even try to talk to her. You avoid her, even! Last night you burned your tongue trying to finish the rest of your soup because she was coming down the stairs. What was that?”

“First of all… My tongue wasn’t burnt.”

“Sooyoung. I walked in on you in the bathroom trying to wrap gauze around it.”

“Jiwoo,” She inhales deeply. “You know how she is. I don’t want to… meddle.” In Sooyoung’s eyes, she is just treating her daughter the same way her parents treated her. And she turned out fine, so is there really a problem?

“What you _don’t_ want to do is get your hands dirty.” And after Jiwoo says it, she puckers her lips and looks away. Sooyoung looks at her, offended and a little impressed, wondering when the hell her wife became such a spitfire. “You need to meddle, even if it’s just a bit. You need to know what’s going on in her life, honey. That’s what moms do.” Jiwoo reaches for Sooyoung’s hands and laces their fingers together. “She looks… okay… But we don’t know if she’s _really_ okay.” Sooyoung looks out the window in thought, tongue in cheek. “And there are some things that she just won’t talk to me about. You two have more of… a similar energy.”

“I guess…” Sooyoung cringes, hard. “...that I can try to talk to her more. But I don’t know about PTA.”

“Just come with me tomorrow night. Please.” Jiwoo needs to beg and do her puppy-dog eyes for what feels like ten minutes straight before Sooyoung finally stops her cringing and agrees. The bubbly baker squeals happily, and wraps her wife in a tight hug.

***

The sky has just begun to warm up on the early Monday morning, orange hues painting the eastern sky. Jungeun drives the black BMW with tired eyes, approaching the window of the Starbucks drive-thru in silence. It’s barely 7am, but Choerry texts furiously in the back seat.

The driver rolls down the tinted window and is greeted by an upbeat barista in green. “One caramel macchiato… and one pink drink.” They exchange the cup holder for the card in her hand, then thank yous and have a nice days.

Jungeun leans over the console to hand Choerry her god awful, cough syrup-like fruit concoction, and she smiles excitedly. “Thanks mom.” The driver turns back around to pull away from the coffee shop.

“Oh- mom?”

“Mm.”

“Can you sign my permission slip?”

Jungeun’s eyes flicker in annoyance. “You’re asking me while I’m driving? I thought I told you to ask your mom at dinner last night while I was working.”

“I did but…” Choerry’s voice falters, deviating from her normal peppy, animated tone. “She just gave me my food. And left to make a business call.” The 8th grader attempts at masking the sadness in her voice. Nevertheless, it rings through the air without warning, and cuts through Jungeun’s heart.

Her mother falls silent as she continues to drive, the glow of her soft blue headlights piercing the misty air. One million thoughts and more run through her head.

But all she says is - “I’ll sign it before you get out.”

And as she follows the familiar road to school, Jungeun, for the first time, finally allows herself to think that maybe Jiwoo was right after all.

***

“No, Yeojin, I will not turn on Nicki Minaj radio.”

Yeojin, disappointed, turns in her chair to face the table behind her. “Sorry Chae, I tried.”

It’s the first Monday since school started last week, and Ms. Vivi Wong’s 8th grade art class is as lively as ever. The kids, seated in pairs at rectangular tables all across the room, work diligently (or so Vivi hopes) on finishing their first assignment of the year - the insightful self-portrait. Vivi herself sits at the front of the class, drawing quietly with them in solidarity as she usually does with every assignment she gives to her beloved class.

A paper airplane lightly lands on Chaewon’s desk, with the words ‘OPEN ME’ written neatly on the wing. Recognizing handwriting immediately, the blonde carefully unfolds the paper, and is greeted with a beautiful, intricate butterfly.

Chaewon turns to the back of the classroom, and she and Hyejoo lock eyes and smile tenderly at each other.

“AWW!” Hyejoo instantly winces at the shrill voice of her seat partner - the living, breathing, human headache. _Choerry._ “That is _sooooo_ cute!”

“Kill yourself,” Hyejoo mutters under her breath.

“I love you too Hyejoo!”

“It’s _Olivia._ ” Hyejoo glares at her with flared nostrils. “How many times do I have to tell you it’s Olivia.”

“Oh my God I’m sorry, I love you too Olivia!”

Hyejoo sinks back into her seat, massaging her temples in suffering. Choerry cheerfully resumes her drawing. The excessively bright colors on her paper catch Hyejoo’s eye.

Choerry’s ‘self-portrait,’ if you could even call it that, was definitely… different. Most of the page was taken up by a giant misshapen circle that Hyejoo assumed was her head. Purple crayon streaks shot out sporadically from its top, making for a very outrageous hairdo. Somehow, she still managed to make the lips even bigger than the head. Below it, there wasn’t even a body, but instead a small outline of what Hyejoo can barely make out to be as a poorly drawn limousine. She filled the tiny remaining spaces of the paper with dozens of hearts.

Choerry catches Hyejoo staring in confusion and laughs. “I know what you’re thinking, I don’t look this good. YET. But she didn’t say it needed to be current.”

“That’s definitely not what I was thinking.”

“What were you thinking?”

“If Principal Haseul drew with her foot, this would probably be the result.”

“Aww, thank you!” Choerry smiles widely, and continues adding finishing touches to her masterpiece.

“Anytime.” Hyejoo says sarcastically.

At the front of the room, Yeojin and her seat partner Yeri are in a similar predicament. “Yeojin, isn’t this a self-portrait assignment? That’s Lil Wayne.” Yeri had paused her music in order to give her full attention to the drawing in front of them, which is indeed Lil Wayne, growling and flashing his grill.

“Yeri. This is who I am. This is practically my reflection.” Yeojin continues carefully coloring in Lil Wayne’s face tattoos.

Just then, the entire class begins to quiet without any instruction from Vivi. Yeojin looks up to identify the stimulus, and snickers knowingly at Principal Haseul knocking softly on the door.  

Vivi looks up to the door, and a ten-thousand watt smile lights up her face.

The principal tip-toes to the teacher’s desk at the front of the class, moving her arms around for absolutely no reason at all. Well, if you don’t count wanting to make Vivi laugh as a reason. Otherwise... Haseul does a lot of things for a reason.

“Hi,” Haseul whispers with a shy smile, leaning and resting her palms on the edge of her co-worker’s desk.

“Hi,” Vivi giggles. “Why are we whispering?”

“I don’t know,” Haseul replies, not at all increasing her volume. Now they’re both giggling, and Yeojin’s eyes have rolled to the back of her head.

“I could fucking barf,” she whispers to Yeri, who is too occupied with putting on a lip sync performance to NASA by Ariana Grande and bouncing out of her seat. But she sees Yeojin lean over, and she takes the airpod out of her left ear.

“What?” she asks, while their principal asks the art teacher about her day so far. Yeojin repeats her words, and Yeri furrows her eyebrows with an alarmed and disgusted look. “You’re homophobic?”

“I’m hagphobic. There’s a difference.”

Haseul notices Vivi’s drawing on the desk, and does a little gasp. “You _drew_ that?” The self-portrait is, unlike anyone else’s in the room, virtually a complete lookalike. “That’s amazing!” Vivi looks back at her in disbelief, but her heart warms at the fact that if Haseul was in a comic she’d have stars in her eyes. “This is practically professional!”

(Haseul doesn’t know it, but the praise makes Vivi’s day.)

“You are so talented. But we been knew.”

“What?” Vivi laughs at Haseul’s broken grammar. “What did you say?”

“I’m trying to pick up on more tween lingo. And integrate it into my vernacular. You should see my chart.” Haseul is entirely serious, and the art teacher is eating it up while some of her students watch the homosexually-charged exchange. “Anyways, are you going to that meeting tonight?”

“PTA?” Vivi nods, tucking some of her red hair behind her ear so gracefully that Haseul silently swoons. “Yeah. As a parent tonight.” She smiles at Chaewon, who is drawing attentively. What she doesn’t see is Chaewon completely losing sight of the project, drawing herself on stage performing with 20 other superstar rappers.

“Well... I guess I’ll see you tonight then! Over some bon bon baguettes,” Haseul says awkwardly, and Vivi can’t tell whether or not the principal knows that Olive Garden isn’t French cuisine. She laughs though, like always whenever they’re together.

“I’ll see you tonight,” the teacher whispers. Haseul smiles excitedly at her in response, then turns on her heel to walk out of the artfully decorated classroom.

Just when she’s about to walk through the door though, she feels a faint hit on her back. On the floor at her feet is a crumpled paper ball, which she picks up to unravel.

‘MADE YOU LOOK’ it says, in her daughter’s chicken scratch handwriting.

She turns around and walks over to Yeojin’s desk. “Did you need something, sweetie?”

“When’s the wedding, Bertha?”

Haseul loves her pisshat daughter, but hates the blushing that erupts on her face. “ _Yeojin_ we are not - It’s not like that.”

“That’s exactly what OJ said and you know what? It was like that,” Yeojin hisses, while Yeri bobs her head passionately with closed eyes to Vroom Vroom by Charli XCX.

 _“Goodbye,”_ the principal says, retreating to the door in fear of being exposed. Yeojin returns to coloring her self-portrait.

Haseul exits and walks down the long baby blue hallway, smiling blissfully to herself while she swings her lanyard around. She’s just happy to have seen Vivi, to have made her laugh. And any conversation, especially one in which the woman she’s in love with doesn’t mention her longtime boyfriend, is a total win.

***

Hyejoo heads down the floor lit spiral staircase just in time to catch her mother on her way out the front door.

Correction, her mothers. Hyejoo had to do a double-take to make sure she was truly looking at her other mom this early in the evening.

“Hi sweetie!” Jiwoo walks over with a smile to pinch Hyejoo’s cheek, and Hyejoo hastily bats her hand away.

“Where are you guys going?”

“The PTA meeting!” Jiwoo lets out a cheerful squeak. Sooyoung, on the other hand, looks like she is two seconds away from downing a cyanide pill.

Hyejoo looks between the two of them in both confusion and disbelief. _“Both_ of you?”

“Yes! Now we have to get going... Don’t want to be late!” Jiwoo says, and pulls Sooyoung’s hand towards the door. “Oh, and obviously you’re not here by yourself - Hyunjin is here.”

 _Oh no._ Hyejoo closes her eyes in pain. “HYEJOO LET’S PLAY SOMETHING ON YOUR GAME THINGY.” Sure enough, her babysitter Hyunjin is screaming when they are only five feet apart, and Sooyoung and Hyejoo both wince at the loud voice. “HYEJOO I’M OVER HERE. CAN YOU SEE ME?” The eighth grader continues to ignore her, not looking in her direction.

“Please take me with you.” Hyejoo looks up at her mothers in immense desperation. “Please. Do not leave me here with her.”

Sooyoung looks at her wife, concerned, but Jiwoo just giggles. “Don’t be dramatic! We’ll be back in a few, HYUNJIN WE’LL BE BACK IN A FEW.”

“OKAY!”

Hyejoo’s eyes widen in panic, but before she could get out a verbal protest her mothers had already exited the house and closed the large door behind them.

As the wives stride past the elegant fountain and flower bed in front of their estate and approach the parked car, Sooyoung can’t help but feel unsure if she should’ve left her child behind. “Sweetie... are you sure she’s an okay babysitter? Also why were you guys screaming, you were really close to each other.”

“Hyunjin’s lovely! And I don’t know, she just likes to yell and I yell back because it’s really refreshing you know? Keeps me young.”

And with that, the lesbian billionaires enter their Mercedes to bypass their property’s massive protective barrier of evergreen, Olive Garden bound.

***

The sky has long since blackened, but the center screen of flawless white Jinsol’s Tesla Roadster lights up brightly while the ringtone for Jungeun (‘My Humps’ by The Black Eyed Peas) blares through the car speakers.

Jinsol happily lets it play for longer than it has to. Eventually, she forces herself to pick up. “Heeey!”

 _“Hi my love,”_ Jungeun greets. _“You let the ringtone play didn’t you?”_

“I may have,” Jinsol says, smiling shamelessly at the road. “What’s up? I’m on my way home.”

 _“Pick me up when you get here. I made us a reservation at Olive Garden.”_ Jungeun bites her lip on the other end of the line, hoping to God that her wife, who has never gotten anything but straight A’s in her life, isn’t smart enough to pick up on her lie tonight.

“Olive Garden does reservations now?” Jinsol narrows her eyes in confusion. They’ve never let her make one over the phone the many times she’s tried (mostly for herself and herself alone).

_“...Yes. Just let me know when you’re outside, okay babe?”_

“Okay honey,” Jinsol says with an oblivious smile. “Can you tell me about your day? I missed you so much.”

 _“It’s going well so far,”_ Jungeun hums with a smile, hiding her quiet trepidation for the night to come. _It’s about to get a whole lot more chaotic._

***

“Hi! Welcome to Olive Garden!” a black-clad employee greets upon Jinsol and Jungeun walking towards the podium.

“Hi, we have a reservation for Kim?”

The woman looks at Jinsol quizzically. “I’m - sorry, we don’t do reservations here..?”

The conversation is cut short by Jungeun grabbing her wife’s hand and wordlessly walking past the podium to the seating area, Jinsol being tugged behind her. As the brunette continues to walk them past most of the seated families, Jinsol has no idea what’s going on (and the grip on her wrist is too tight for her to feel okay asking).

Jungeun stops at the end of the large room, in front of wooden double-doors with a plaque above them displaying the words ‘PARTY ROOM.’

“Ohh, I know what you’re doing.” Jinsol narrows her eyes and gives her wife a giddy smile, who stops herself from opening the door.

Jungeun deadpans. “What am I doing, honey.”

“You’re throwing me a birthday party!”

“Your birthday… is months away.”

“Oh. We’re… renewing our vows? Not what I expected from you, but Olive Garden was definitely one of my top venue choices-”

“Jinsol.” Jungeun inhales deeply. “Just promise me you won’t leave.”

Jinsol looks into her beautiful wife’s eyes, and brings her hand to Jungeun’s hip over her blazer. “I’d never leave you.”

Jungeun’s heart warms at the touch... until she pictures Sooyoung Ha seething and glaring at Jinsol as they enter. _We’ll see,_ she thinks, and without another word, she pulls open the door.

The private room is almost completely filled with guests… women… _moms,_ and as the door loudly creaks shut behind them, all their eyes are on them. At their round tables, Jinsol sees some of the women gasp and whisper interestedly to their seatmates. Puzzled, the blonde looks left to the front of the room, and sees the following words projected in bold on the screen:

**WELCOME TO ST. JIHYO’S PRESIDENTIAL ACADEMY’S**

**1** **st** **ANNUAL PTA MEETING**

Jinsol is frozen in place. “Wh-”

“Hi! Welcome!” An unfamiliar black-haired woman walks away from the display MacBook to approach the couple and shake their hands. Her smile is sophisticated and warm, but her eyes radiate intimidation. “I’m Irene Kang, the PTA President.” In her fashionable yet very professional fit with a blazer, skirt, and heels, she looks more like a United States politician and less one of a private school.

“Hi Irene, I’m Jungeun, Choerry’s mom - we spoke earlier on the phone?”

“Oh yes!” Irene’s eyes flash in recognition, beaming. “So nice to finally meet the moms of our fearless student body president!”

Jinsol stops. _Choerry is student body president?_

She had no idea.

Irene suddenly looks to Jinsol with eyes widening in astonishment. “Wait a minute… Then you must be Dr. Jinsol Kim?”

“Haha, yes, that’s me!” Jinsol laughs nervously, still quite uncomfortable in the new situation that she did not, in any way, ask to be in.

“ _Wow!_ I’ve never seen you in person before!” Irene looks the woman up and down, as if she’s trying to figure out how to speak to her. Making up her mind she smiles gently. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for St. Jihyo’s.” Irene continues to thank her profusely, while Jinsol humbly tells her it’s nothing, truly, anything for the kids. “You two can sit anywhere you’d like. The meeting is going to start in a few. So nice to finally meet you.” She gives them one more sincere smile before returning to the front.

Jungeun and Jinsol scan the room of round tables for four, and decide on one in the front row adjacent to the window where no one is currently sitting.

“Why are we here,” Jinsol whispers. Neither have them have ever attended a PTA meeting, have never even spoken about doing so outside of jokes. But Jungeun stays mute as they slide into their seats. Jinsol’s eyes light up at the coming waiter’s full basket of breadsticks, and snatches one as soon as it hits the tabletop.

Just then, an overbright glare from outside the window beside her makes the oceanographer squint and shield her face.

Jinsol’s blood runs cold as she watches the black Mercedes Benz with tinted windows slowly and perfectly pull into a parking space.

She’d forgotten about Satan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oop, a cliffhanger… Part 2 is coming sooner than you think… Stay tuned and do tell us your favorite parts in the comments below!


	3. First PTA Meeting (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey skinnies, daniela here, just wanted to say im really glad y’all have liked this fic so far and i'm really excited for you guys to see where this story goes!!!!! :D without further ADO here’s part 2 oh shit that rhymed gowon shaking

“We’re leaving,” the blonde CEO abruptly chokes out. “We’re leaving right now,” Jinsol says, shoving breadsticks into her purse. 

“Hey, hey,” Jungeun grabs her wife’s hand to stop her, and she can’t help but feel the impending doom as well. But for Choerry’s sake, she’s going to force her through it. “Jinsol.” Her wife stops. “You said you wouldn’t leave.”

Jinsol’s fear skyrockets as she sees the gleaming Mercedes doors slowly open upward. “This is  _ different,”  _ she pleads, with the urgency of escaping a ticking time bomb.

“Baby. We’re staying right here.”

Jinsol manages to stay put, but it doesn’t stop the urge she gets to throw herself off a bridge when she sees Sooyoung in her long dark trench coat step out of the car. She links arms with Jiwoo, and they smile at each other sweetly before walking towards the entrance of the restaurant.

“As the Romans once said, ‘Well it’s over.’”

“Sol.” The blonde is anxiously and aggressively bouncing her leg under the table, head turning to stare at the door. “Remember when...” Jungeun racks her brain for something, any anecdote to calm her down “When we were outside my mom’s house? To tell her that we were engaged?”

Jinsol pauses and looks back at Jungeun, distracted and comforted by her thumb rubbing circles on the back of her palm. She nods with a tiny gulp. 

“I couldn’t even ring the doorbell. Remember? She hadn’t spoken to me in more than a year.” 

“You were walking away. Back to the car,” Jinsol recalls, softening her expression.

“Yes. But remember what you said to me? To get me to stay?” Jungeun asks, smiling at the way Jinsol is loosening as she illustrates the memory, her hand relaxing in Jungeun’s own.

“...I said,” Jinsol stifles a laugh. “Oh gosh, what did I say again,”

“You said... ‘Nothing is impossible unless you can’t do it.’”

Jinsol chuckles at her own stupidity. “That’s the one.” And just like that, a room filled to capacity with mothers feels as though they’re the only two in it.

“You told me that stupid fucking quote,” Jungeun explains playfully, “And it made absolutely no sense, but it got me through that dinner. So if I could take my mother, you can handle a grown woman who has a secret Instagram for posting work-out sayings.”

It takes a few moments for the connection to be made in Jinsol’s brain. Then, she’s choking from trying to gasp and laugh at the same time. “She _ what?” _

“Yes. She posts aggressively douchey things like ‘You don’t get the ass you want by sitting on it.’” The CEO giggles lowly at the new embarrassing information. “Jiwoo showed me.” (Jungeun is pretty sure Jiwoo wasn’t supposed to show anyone in the first place.)

Irene calls out that the meeting is about to begin, and Jungeun, with a warm smile, mouths to her  _ It’s gonna be fine _ . Jinsol takes one last look of adoration at her beautiful wife, squeezes her hand, and looks to the front of the room as the lights begin to dim. 

Jinsol takes a deep breath, and tries to concentrate on Irene’s welcome speech to the parents. She’s doing fine, until she hears Jiwoo’s familiar voice break through the double doors.  _ “HELLO?!” _

Irene stops mid-sentence, silencing the room. Quietly, she mutters “The doors are open… I don’t know what-” Jiwoo must have figured it out, because suddenly she’s walking inside, Sooyoung in hand. 

Both of Irene’s eyebrows shoot up when she sees that the baking superstar isn’t alone. Everyone is now looking at them, except Jinsol, who tries to find some joy in the odd wall decor.

Jiwoo’s mouth forms an “O” shape at the standstill she’s caused, and kindly whispers “Sorry to interrupt, everyone!” Irene is still silent, staring in shock and confusion. So is the rest of the room. “Oh, this is Sooyoung!”

Irene looks around, quickly recovering from losing control of the room.  “Everyone, this is Sooyoung Ha, president and CEO of Yves Saint Laurent, and our most generous donor!” Mothers everywhere burst into vigorous, enthusiastic applause. Some even stand up. 

Irene checks her watch, slightly flustered at the time going by and begins to tap her foot impatiently.  She has a big presentation to give in a narrow time window, after all. 

Sooyoung smiles and waves politely at the grand welcome, while Jinsol mutters a little too loudly “I didn’t get a standing ovation” and gets kicked harshly under the table by Jungeun.

A very disconcerted  Irene waits a beat, leans back over to the Has, and whispers, “ Thanks for finally joining us. Sit where you’d like, but since you’re late there won’t be anything close. I’m sure you’ll find somewhere though.” She offers a tight lipped smile and Sooyoung returns it.

“Well she’s a treat.” Sooyoung whispers to Jiwoo quietly, as Irene turns back to her slideshow.

Jiwoo chuckles. “Oh don’t worry about it, it’s just because we’re late. Irene is just a very… precise person.” The celebrity smiles. “She and her wife are very nice, I promise.” 

The tall, refined CEO takes her wife’s hand and scans the room for empty seats. Before Jinsol can tear her eyes away from them after stealing a peek, Sooyoung and her, for the first time in years, _ make eye contact.  _

Sooyoung looks away as quickly as one would retract their hand from a burning hot surface.

But much to Yves Saint Laurent’s CEO’s dismay… the only seats left are the two vacant spots remaining at Jinsol’s table.

Hesitantly, Sooyoung takes Jiwoo and approaches their table while Irene continues talking to the crowd. Jiwoo flashes Jungeun an absolutely manic smile... and that’s when Jungeun knew that this ship is about to go down. “Jungie!” her best friend greets happily. Jungeun stands to embrace Jiwoo, who then goes to hug Jinsol before taking her seat. 

Sooyoung completely ignores Jinsol at first. “Hi Jungeun,” she whispers, and leans over to tightly embrace her old friend. And Jinsol’s nails, despite their short length, pierce the tablecloth. 

“Hello, Jinsol.” The greeting comes out airy and harmless-sounding, yet Jinsol knows that Sooyoung’s honeyed voice drips with poison.

“Hello Sooyoung.” The other CEO says dryly (after swallowing a bolus of her intimidation), cocking her head to the side and forcing a tight-lipped smile. They don’t hug. 

The taller woman is barely sitting down, but has already decided to begin her assault. She looks Jinsol dead in the eyes, and perks her eyebrows up innocently with a smirk. “You’ve eaten all the breadsticks already, Jinsol?”

“Yes I like to have a healthy intake of carbohydrates Sooyoung, is there a problem?” Jinsol retorts. Jungeun, closing her eyes, brings her fingers to the bridge of her nose. Jiwoo playfully stirs her drink with her straw as her eyes dart between the two. Jungeun takes out her phone under the table.

**Jungeun:** You just wanted to stir the pot didn’t you 

**Jiwoo:** i can bring my pots in here? :D

**Jungeun:** Jiwoo.

**Jiwoo:** OHHHH i get what you mean! stir the pot

**Jungeun:** Yes.

**Jiwoo:** you brought dank?

**Jungeun:** What…?

**Jiwoo:** dank 

**Jiwoo:** do i just use one of their spoons ? 

**Jiwoo:** i dont think youre supposed to stir weed although i think i heard a high schooler talking about grinding is that what you mean ?

Jungeun locks her phone. 

“Tonight,” Irene declares as her powerpoint smoothly transitions to a very aesthetically pleasing slide, “We’ll be going over all of this year’s 8th grade events that the PTA is in charge of facilitating.

“First, we have the Aquarium of the Pacific field trip.” A vibrant blue slide flashes across the projector, with a high quality ocean’s surface gif seamlessly looping as the background.

Principal Haseul Jo turns to Ms. Vivi Wong at her side in the darkness, and whispers “This is an abnormally nice powerpoint for a PTA meeting.”

Irene’s wife, Seulgi Kang, turns in her chair to face Haseul. “She’s been working on this for months.”

“Damn ma, is it that serious?”

“What?” Seulgi and Vivi ask in unison, staring at the principal in utter confusion.

“The kids like to say that too,” Haseul adds quietly, in her normal voice. 

Large white text materializes on the screen as Irene clicks the pointer once more. “The Aquarium of the Pacific field trip is an annual tradition for the 8th grade class, and every year the class gets free VIP passes thanks to one of our very own Saint mothers… Who is also the aquarium’s president & CEO!” Irene looks over to the Kim and Ha table with a gracious smile at Jinsol. “Dr. Jinsol Kim is here with us tonight for the very first time as well! You might recognize her from the news as the billionaire who bought SeaWorld just to shut it down.” 

The room bursts into lively applause once more, and Jinsol nods and waves politely, internally doing backflips at the hard-earned praise. Sooyoung sits expressionless and claps a grand total of twice before folding her hands back in her lap.

“Because of the free passes that we have thanks to Dr. Kim, we won’t require as much fundraising to cover the expenses of that event. But we will for our next one… which is…” The next slide spins into center view. “Field Day!”

Waiters have started making their way around the tables to quietly take orders from the parents. Jiwoo, Jungeun, Jinsol, and Sooyoung all successfully report their food choices, but before their waiter leaves, Sooyoung taps his shoulder.

“Could you also bring us some more breadsticks? Oh- and some garlic bread too please. Gotta make sure we have our healthy intake of carbohydrates. Right Jinsol?” 

She turns to the blonde, smug as ever, and Jinsol returns a forced smile while her fork visibly begins to bend in her hand.

“Field Day,” Irene continues, “Is the students’ favorite day of the year.”

"Mine too." Haseul whispers to Vivi. "I love the water balloon fight."

Vivi tilts her head. "The kids have a water balloon fight?"

"Well it's more like I fill up water balloons by myself and throw them at people. Also I've never done it before. But I'm going to do it this year and I'm very excited about it.” Haseul declares with a proud smile. “Irene doesn't know so don't tell her," she adds hastily.

Vivi moves her hand across her mouth to motion zipping it. Haseul smiles, and turns back to the presentation. Vivi watches Haseul for a lingering second, and chuckles quietly before doing the same.

“Of course then we have our Bake Sale on Candy Cane Lane for the Christmas season. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, so you all better start getting your recipes ready now!” Irene uses a playful voice, but it’s obvious that she may as well have a gun to everyone’s head.

“Next, we have the annual archdiocese-wide Dinner & Spoken Word competition, where students get to showcase their skills in slam poetry! For the first time in 10 years, St. Jihyo’s will be hosting!” 

Jinsol reaches for the basket of garlic bread and the center of the table, and is met with resistance - her best friend Sooyoung, too, is pulling at the basket.

Neither of them let go.

The two CEOs tug the basket of garlic bread at the same time, with increasing force as Jinsol’s hand begins to shake from the sheer strength of her grip. 

“Are you serious?” Jungeun asks in disbelief, as Jinsol and Sooyoung glare at each other with contempt.

Jiwoo loves a good catfight, but this is getting too childish (even for her). She gently places a hand on her wife’s arm. “Honey, let go.” She doesn’t budge.  _ “Sooyoung,”  _ Jiwoo says, voice turning steely. “Let go, or I’m watching the next episode of the Kardashians without you,” she threatens through gritted teeth.

Sooyoung gasps. “You wouldn’t,” she whispers, simply appalled by the treacherous threat. But before Sooyoung can let go, Jinsol suddenly opens her hold, and all the garlic bread in the basket comes flying to Sooyoung’s face. 

“Oops!”

Sooyoung is zero seconds away from launching out of her seat to grab Jinsol by the hair to throw her across the room like Thor’s hammer when Irene loudly clears her throat. She stares at their table, prompting everyone else in the room to do so too. Jiwoo whispers a “Sorry!” and Jungeun has her head in her hands.

“Shortly after is the Spring Fling dance, which will be our most expensive event by far. We will need a venue, catering, a DJ, and so much more; we can anticipate the event to cost around $10,000. Which, of course, is why the Christmas bake sale is so important.” 

“I could just donate that money, it’s not a problem.” Sooyoung offers from her seat (after brushing all the bread crumbs off of herself) and starts to pull out her checkbook from her purse.

Jinsol quickly pulls hers out as well. “Yeah it’s no problem, I can also donate that much. I can donate more even.” Jinsol starts scribbling random numbers one after the other on a blank check.

Sooyoung lets out a hard chuckle. “I mean I can buy the entire venue, if that’s what the school needs.” 

Jinsol narrows her eyes. “I’m sure you could. Why don’t you buy the school while you’re at it, maybe you want my purse too? Do you want to buy that?”

Sooyoung looks at Jinsol’s purse with disgust. “Trust me.  _ No one _ wants to buy that.” 

“Oh my God,  _ SHUT UP!” _ Both women look up at Irene who has just screamed at them from the front of the room.

Irene awkwardly clears her throat again, and adjusts her blazer. “Umm… the cap on monetary donations to the PTA is $8,000, which you’ve both already generously given, and will be distributed to other events throughout the year. But we still need to raise funds for the dance. And you two can help out in other ways… like chaperoning.” Both sitting women put away their checkbooks and sit in silence. Exasperated, Irene continues. 

“Right before graduation is the field trip to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Kids get in free, so we’ll just have to fundraise for transportation. We won’t be doing Paint For Change this year though… due to… the vandalism,” Irene awkwardly laments. 

“OOF!” 

All eyes are on Haseul, who just needed to open her mouth.

“Would you like to add something, Princip-”

“No! Carry on!” Haseul grins, then looks around nervously. She hopes no one remembers it was her own daughter, who tricked an entire class into painting a mosaic mural of Drake’s face onto the freeway-facing wall of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Sooyoung perks her head up to her tablemates. “Vandalism? You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you Jinsol?”

“Why would I know anything about that.” Jinsol replies, flatly.

“Oh, since you dabble in it I assumed you’d have an idea.” Sooyoung says, staring at Jinsol dead in the face as it reddens in shame. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jinsol hisses.

“I think you very well do,” Sooyoung retaliates, no longer whispering. Irene stops talking, and dramatically clears her throat for what feels like the millionth time. 

Like school children themselves, Sooyoung and Jinsol look to the PTA president, who declares a very passive aggressive “I’ll wait.” The CEOs, clearly embarrassed to be called out a third time, collect themselves and the meeting resumes.

“Lastly there’s graduation, and the school year’s over! All the excess funds are funneled into the school’s summer carnival.”

The parents clap and, with relief, Irene smiles at her audience. “It looks like dinner is beginning to arrive for everyone, so please enjoy your food as Seulgi goes over the mandatory safety rules for the events.”

After tinkering with the computer for a few seconds, Seulgi is able to pull up a very bright and loud powerpoint.  ‘safety rules’ is on the cover slide in Comic Sans.  Unlike her wife’s presentation, there seems to be no order... anywhere... and the Glee Cast version of  _ Safety Dance _ plays in the background on a loop the entire time she speaks. 

Jungeun watches the clock anxiously and is relieved that somehow, Sooyoung and Jinsol managed to keep it together through all of Seulgi’s instructions. 

“Lastly, we need to make sure no one gets their hands stuck in the carnival ferris wheel rotator. Almost happened to me last year and it was not fun.” Seulgi clicks to the final slide, which is just a giant picture of Irene smiling in bed. 

“This isn’t part of the safety rules, but isn’t she pretty?” Seulgi smiles up at the picture as Irene quickly rushes up to shut off the projector, cheeks beet red.

“Okay everyone, thank you so much for coming!” She gently nudges Seulgi off the stage. “Remember every parent group must complete at least 3 shifts of volunteer work this year - from chaperoning events to running fundraisers - and you must email me with your choices by the 24th. First come first serve. Thank you again, and enjoy the rest of your meals!” Irene takes a deep breath and finally sits down at her table.

“Dope presentation Renie!” Haseul offers a fist bump and Irene looks at it in distaste.

“Yeah it was!” Seulgi smiles warmly at her wife. Softening, Irene rolls her eyes and fist bumps Haseul back.

“Well that was informative!” Jiwoo perks up from her chair. “To be honest I kind of blacked out until that safety song started playing. I asked Siri to save it for me.” Jiwoo chuckles and stabs her fork into her lasagna.

Jungeun looks back and forth between her wife and Sooyoung.  _ Well, it could’ve been worse?  _  She takes a large sip of her water as Jiwoo continues talking about how enjoyable Seulgi’s powerpoint was.

The group continues to eat as Jiwoo babbles on, and Jungeun watches as Jinsol relentlessly slurps up spaghetti noodles. Sooyoung is also staring at her, moderately repulsed at her eating habits. However, as she remains silent, Jungeun thinks they might just make it out in one piece.

That is, until a smug smile begins to creep across Sooyoung's face.

“Jinsol, are you saving spaghetti for later? We can get you a container, you don't have to keep it around your mouth.” 

Jinsol’s eyebrows move down to form a ‘V’ shape and she stands suddenly. “That’s so generous of you Sooyoung, maybe you’d like a container as well. Like a coffin possibly?”

_ “Ohhhhhh- _ kay!” Jungeun stands with her wife, latching onto her arm fearfully. “Well it’s getting late, we should really get going!”

Jiwoo looks at her Apple watch and stands as well. “Oh we should too, we have to let the babysitter go home.” Jiwoo motions for Sooyoung to stand as well.

Gathering their things, both couples begin to make their way out of the Olive Garden party room with the other St. Jihyo’s PTA parents.

***

Behind the restaurant in the dimly lit parking lot, the Kims watch from the corner of the building as the Has retreat to their vehicle. 

Well, Jungeun watches. Jinsol is glaring, and has been doing so ever since she exchanged half-hearted goodbyes with Sooyoung.

Jungeun turns back to her wife to see her still staring at the Mercedes with a fist clenched at her side like the Arthur meme.  She rolls her eyes.  “Can you please just relax?”

“I can’t stand her. I hate her sauntering, her arrog-”

The blonde is interrupted by the deafening roar of Sooyoung revving her car engine for absolutely no reason other than to show off. Jinsol is infuriated.

“She doesn’t need to have her dick out like that,” she spits.

Jungeun lets out a spent sigh, one much more exhausted than usual. Taking Jinsol to the PTA meeting was tiring and problematic, just like she anticipated it would be. She just wants to go home.

“I  _ despise _ her. I don’t even know why you brought me here tonight-”

“Because you’ve been ignoring our daughter.” 

The words take a beat to register in Jinsol’s brain, and she turns to her wife slowly, utterly taken aback. Her eyes soften. “What?” The CEO’s question comes not from a place of defensiveness, but one of complete confusion.

“Jinsol…” Jungeun is careful with her word choice, careful with how she treads this icy new ground. “You don’t even talk to her anymore.” And so, Jungeun tells her - about the permission slip, about how that isn’t even the first time she’s heard something similar from Choerry.

The more evidence Jungeun supplies, the more it dawns upon oblivious Jinsol that the accusation is not merely an impulsive remark but the actual truth of her actions - and the clearer it becomes that she’s truly left her relationship with her daughter to decay from malnourishment. And under the pressure of her heavying guilt, her heart starts to crack.

Lips slightly parted and hurt in her eyes, Jinsol looks like a kicked puppy. She tries to focus on anything, anything  _ but  _ Jungeun’s words, from the blinding cores of the streetlamps to the cars that whiz past the stoplight. 

And Jungeun doesn’t want to add it when she sees the look on Jinsol’s face, but she has to - gently, she has to - “Our daughter is hurting, Sol.”

As nonsensical as it sounds in retrospect, Jinsol never thought Choerry would seriously be affected her absence. But how could she  _ not  _ be, when the CEO retraces her steps to recognize she’s been increasingly busy for months, hell,  _ years _ even? 

The thought of Choerry hurting because she’s been an absentee mother, so chronically that Jungeun had to tell her herself, makes her feel like she’s completely and utterly failed.

“Jinsol, please don’t cry…” Jungeun sees the tears begin to take form at the corners of Jinsol’s eyes, and the blonde looks away again pursing her lips hard so the tears won’t fall.

“I’m sorry,” she says, shakily. The sentiment is barely audible, but she means it with her whole heart. “I’m really sorry, Jungeun,” she chokes out, biting her lip and lowering her head, not wanting the world to bear witness to her crumbling. 

“The time just flew by so fast and-” Jinsol shakes her head, looking up to the sky with glassy eyes. “God, I am  _ such _ a bad mom,” she says, voiceless. 

_ “No,”  _ Jungeun immediately rejects, walking closer to her wife. “Hey… look at me, please,” she hates that had to be the one to do this; Jinsol is so sensitive, and it doesn’t help that every time she cries Jungeun has to talk herself out of doing so too. “Hey…” she whispers.

“You’re not a bad mom.” Jungeun continues. She moves her hands to clasp firmly around Jinsol’s, and looks up at all the sadness in Jinsol’s eyes. “But you have to do better with her, okay?” The blonde’s tears flow freely, and she hates herself even more for crying behind an Olive Garden but man does it hurt to think of how bad she’s royally fucked up. 

She sobs, noiselessly, and Jungeun brings her into her arms. ‘I didn’t know’ is all Jungeun can make out from the whimpers into her shoulder. She strokes her hair comfortingly, and fights the prickling in her own eyes with deep, slow breaths. “Now you do,” she whispers by her wife’s ear. 

It stuns her, the way her wife appears to have genuinely had no idea at all. Despite the sadness of the situation though, it’s almost comedic how she’s been missing the blatantly obvious for this long.  _ Only Jinsol,  _ Jungeun muses quietly, as she gently runs her fingers through blonde hair.

She apologizes once more when she finally pulls away. 

“Sol, you can make it up to her. It’s not too late.” 

Jinsol may have needed a wake up call, but deep down she’s known that above all else, her family is her world. Not the aquarium, not the accolades, not anything else - and the possibility that one of her moons is slipping away is not something she takes lightly.

“Thank you for letting me know,” Jinsol says.

(Jungeun will always tell it to her straight. It’s part of the reason why she loves her so much.)

The brunette goes on her tippy toes to plant a soft kiss on Jinsol’s forehead. “Now come on, let’s go home.”

Together, they walk hand in hand to their car - and Jinsol is determined to never take what she has for granted again.

***

Jungeun is sorting through paperwork in her penthouse office the next morning when her phone buzzes on her desk.

**Jinsol:** Taking some time off after this week x 

Her heart blooms.

**Jungeun:** I love you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: The 8th graders of St. Jihyo’s go on the Aquarium of the Pacific field trip! Buckle your seatbelts! And be sure to tell us your favorite parts, characters, relationships, favorite anything that evoked emotion in this chapter… TELL US in the comments below! We love you! :) - Cat


	4. Hunger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys im gonna THROW UP here’s chapter 4 if the us women don’t win today i’ll be passing away tomorrow thank you have fun reading - daniela

_ For a private school with a multi-million dollar endowment, they could do with some better ventilation,  _ Choerry thinks to herself upon entering the stuffy middle school cafeteria, which reeks of pungent scents from both pre-teens and their lunches.

The purple-haired eighth grader walks down the center aisle, scanning the long rectangular tables to her left and right for her friend group. And there they sit, at their new territory by the largest window. Bright colored Choerry catches her best friend Nayeon’s attention, who beckons her to join them. 

Choerry sets her school boxed lunch down at their table, and squeezes into a seat between the window and her boyfriend Chad - captain of both the football and basketball team. “Hey baby,” he greets halfheartedly, eyes glued to his Instagram feed in front of him. Choerry is pretty sure he just got off practice considering the B.O. she could smell wafting through the air.

“Hi,” Choerry replies in her sweet voice regardless, planting a kiss on his cheek. 

Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Dahyun sit across from them. “Hello Madam President,” Nayeon says with a toothless smile. 

“Hello Madam Vice President,” Choerry greets and tilts her head affectionately, excitement filling her once again when she remembers she will be spending eighth grade running the school with her best friend.

“Shut up whores, I need to start a new Tik Tok.” Dahyun spits, and positions her camera in front of her and begins to pose ridiculously. She flicks her phone camera hard and winks with a dab. 

“What the fuck are you doing.” Jeongyeon criticizes with narrowed eyes. 

“I HAVE FIVE MILLION FOLLOWERS JEONGYEON,” Dahyun practically screams, “What do you have?” 

“Dignity.” Jeongyeon rolls her eyes, and slaps the phone out of Dahyun’s hand, sending her fumbling to the floor after it.

Choerry opens her boxed lunch to see yet again another impressive assortment. Waiting patiently to be consumed are half a sandwich, a cup of actually-good mashed potatoes, a small orange juice bottle, a cookie, and some apple slices. “Wow, they’re really stepping it up this year!” 

“If you can even call that food.” Dahyun adds, restarting her Tik Tok after recovering her phone from the floor. 

“I think it’s alright,” Choerry shrugs. (Choerry doesn’t know it, but parts of Jinsol’s massive donations were specifically for better lunches for the kids.)

“I guess.” Dahyun’s music blares loudly while she proceeds to lip sync the wrong words. But she’s interrupted by a violent  _ SPLAT _ on the window next to them, coming from outside. As a smashed, gooey cup of mashed potatoes slowly sinks down the window, Choerry spots Yeojin cackling from a table outside in the patio area, laughing along with who Choerry thinks she can recognize through the mash as Hyejoo from art (or, sorry, Olivia), Ms. Wong’s daughter, and another girl laughing almost as hard as Yeojin.  

“Those lesbian gremlins are so obnoxious,” Nayeon says, disgusted.

Dahyun chortles. “What about the  _ lesbian _ sitting right next to us? You seem to get along with her just fine,” she says, referring to the short-haired girl next to them.

“Shut up Jacob Sartorius,” Jeongyeon snaps.

Chad looks up from is phone, intrigued. “Are you…” He lowers his voice, appearing almost afraid to say what’s next. “...Antihomo?”

“It’s homophobic you overgrown potato, and no, I’m not, they’re just fucking annoying,” Nayeon clarifies, exasperated. “I don’t know why we keep  _ sitting _ by the  _ window.” _

“Because Chowry likes it.” Jeongyeon remarks.

“It’s Choerry,” Choerry says.

“No thanks.” 

Jeongyeon turns to see Dahyun using her phone again, and decides to use her entire palm to push Dahyun’s face backwards. 

“Oh my GOD.” Dahyun fumes under her hand, having to restart her Tik Tok in rage.

Choerry gives up, and silences - and the only sound nearby is Chad viciously smacking away at his food. Correction, Choerry’s food. His unwashed, visibly dirty hands have reached into her box to snatch both her cookie and her entire sandwich, which he now chews with an open mouth.

“Choerry can you please turn off your garbage disposal?” Jeongyeon requests, glaring at Chad, but still managing to poke Dahyun with a fork on the opposite side of her.

Choerry lightly taps her boyfriend, who before she can say anything, finishes the rest of her sandwich and stands up. “I’m gonna go play with the boys now,” he declares. He leans over to Choerry to kiss her on the lips, but she can smell his body odor again and she pushes him away. “C’mon, please,” he persists. 

“No,” Choerry says. 

_ “Argh!” _ he flares, and mumbles an irritated  _ Whatever _ before grabbing his backpack from under the bench and storming off. 

Choerry looks down into her box.  _ The things you do for love,  _ she thinks, with a little laugh. “He ate all my lunch,” she says, reaching to unscrew her juice.

“It’s okay, you could lose some weight anyways.” 

The comment comes from Nayeon, and Jeongyeon and Dahyun are too busy wrestling over Dahyun’s phone to hear. 

Choerry looks up at her in complete shock. 

Every other noise in the cafeteria begins to sound like she’s hearing them underwater. 

Choerry feels her heart beating fearfully in her chest, and opens her mouth to reply, but Nayeon simply advances the conversation as easily as she brought it to a standstill, without any further comment on the matter. 

The purple-haired girl just tunes it out, and, hating herself, quietly returns the juice, suddenly having lost all of her appetite.

“I’M SO FUCKING SICK OF YOUR ASS!” Jeongyeon screams, holding Dahyun’s phone away from her and bringing Choerry back down to Earth.

“MAYBE IF YOU FOLLOWED MY TIK TOK YOU’D UNDERSTAND THE ART!” Dahyun yells into her ear. Jeongyeon hurls Dahyun’s phone across the room, not caring who it may hit, and Dahyun scrambles off of her to run after it like a feral dog.

Jeongyeon sighs, and carefully unwraps her own lunch from home. Nayeon breathes out a series of laughs as Jeongyeon reveals it to be a whole cooked lobster.

“Who brings a lobster to school?” Nayeon chuckles out, and Choerry stops. That reminds her- “Speaking of sea animals,” she adds with a hint of disgust, “The aquarium field trip tomorrow…” She points a finger towards her open mouth and gags. “Boring.”  

With the little fire the normally jovial student body president can muster within herself, she won’t let her get away with this one. “My mom  _ owns it,”  _ Choerry snaps with narrowed eyes. 

Choerry swears she can see fear in Nayeon’s eyes for a quick two seconds before her facial expression has a complete makeover. With a big smile and almost convincing excitement had Choerry not heard in her remark before, she says “Well I didn’t know that! Choerry this is going to be so much fun!” 

Nayeon and Jeongyeon continue to talk to each other, and Choerry zones out once again. Uninterested and definitely hurt, she looks out the window. Her attention is directed to Yeojin and company outside, laughing at their round table so hard that they are all gasping for air. Choerry can’t remember the last time she laughed that much.

_ Maybe one day, _ Choerry hopes,  _ these guys will make me that happy. _

***

“Hyejoo!” 

Later that day at the Ha residence, Jiwoo calls for her daughter ever so sweetly from the kitchen, just having finished fixing up an after-school snack. 

“Hyejooooo!” The woman holds out the end of her child’s name even longer than before. Still, there was no sign of Hyejoo even being alive. Jiwoo closes her eyes, and puts down the glass of water she was drinking.

“HYEJOOOOOOOOO!” Jiwoo lets out a hellish screech, scaring the living daylights out of Hyejoo who had already begun coming down the stairs.

_ “Jesus _ mom! Yes?” Hyejoo stands on the last step to the kitchen, positioning her arms so she could lean her entire body weight on the spiraling staircase’s railing. 

“I made a snack for you! Here.” Jiwoo says with a smile, holding out a small bowl with Hyejoo’s favorite fruits chopped up inside. Hyejoo walks towards her, ears still ringing. 

“Thanks.” Hyejoo grabs the bowl and is about to turn away when her mother reaches out.

“Hey no wait! Let’s sit! Tell me about your day.” Jiwoo points to the chair and Hyejoo pauses before reluctantly and awkwardly sitting. The celebrity puts both elbows on the kitchen island and sets her face in her hands, giving her full attention to her daughter. 

“Uhhhhh. It went okay... Can I leave now?” Olivia tries to get up, but her mother, fast as lightning, shoves her back down onto the seat. 

“No! You had that summer project due today right? The one you interviewed me for last week? How did that go?”

Hyejoo shifts uncomfortably in her seat, suddenly very interested in the contents of her snack bowl. 

Jiwoo’s eyes narrow. “What happened? Did your teacher give you a bad grade?” Hyejoo’s eyes focus on the floor. Jiwoo crosses her arms. 

“You used the notes I gave you right? And the special vlog I made for you? I gave you 5 USBs packed with videos of me talking.”

“Yeah, I told you I didn’t need that.” Hyejoo huffs slightly and flicks a piece of strawberry to the opposite side of her bowl. “That’s... not why she gave me a bad grade though.”

Jiwoo crumples her eyebrows in confusion, noticing that her daughter is clearly struggling to say something else on her mind. “Then?”

“It was supposed to be about our whole family.” Hyejoo shoves a grape into her mouth and quickly chews. “I didn’t do that.”

Jiwoo’s arms remain crossed. “And why not?”

Hyejoo swallows. “I didn’t want to... ask... Mom any questions.” she admits uncomfortably. “She’s kind of scary. Plus, she’s always busy. I really don’t know much about her anyway, other than she’s brooding and successful, and that was too short for the page requirement so I just left her out.”

Jiwoo’s facial expression softens in sadness, shoulders slumping. 

Her daughter didn’t even know one of her own mothers enough to write more than a single sentence about her? 

The heartbreak on her face must have been obvious, because Hyejoo immediately stands up. “Um - it’s fine Mom, it wasn’t even that bad of a grade. I’ll just do the extra credit tomorrow... it’s okay.” She eats the last strawberry in her bowl with the guilt of dampening the mood. “I’m gonna go back upstairs now.” Hyejoo gives Jiwoo an awkward hug, but before Jiwoo can even put an arm around her daughter the girl was bounding up the stairs. 

Jiwoo watches her sadly, all the way until she disappears after a turn into the hallway and she can’t see her anymore.

***

The chills on Sooyoung’s almost bare form melt away as she slowly slips into the bubbling hot tub. With the long daylights of summer slipping away, the radiant dark azure of the water only shines brighter to illuminate her pale skin. 

The water foams just below her neck. After a particularly exhausting day and walking through all of it in Louboutins, getting to unwind in the water was a luxury Sooyoung appreciated.

Her eyes focused on the sight in front of her - her grand mansion, the Beverly Hills view of the entire city just past its buildings, and the personalized comfort she’s been able to create for herself, from hard work and imagination alone. 

There were many luxuries to be appreciated.

Leaning her head back against the contoured platform, she stares at the black sky and her eyes began to shut. 

She thinks back to a time much longer ago. Decades before she had clawed her way to the apex of the fashion industry. 

Back to one afternoon of her youth that she will never forget.

Sooyoung’s parents were gone, always gone, to focus on the multiple jobs they both had. She was alone in their cramped apartment, with a bowl of canned soup set aside to be her dinner. It was her responsibility to eat whatever was available without complaints. That’s all she really was expected to do as her parents’ child - fend for herself, and not complain.

When Sooyoung thinks back to that evening, she can’t recall just how many nights in a row she’d been having canned soup, or why she was rummaging through the cabinet above her. What she does remember though is not finding whatever it is she was searching for. That, and the panic that screamed through her when she accidentally knocked the bowl of soup below her over the ledge. 

All the soup from the last can in the house had splattered on the floor. 

Sooyoung remembers how she fell to her knees that night, how the tears stung at her eyes, and how she could barely see the floor she was cleaning. She remembers her parents coming home, and her lying to their faces that she’d eaten, not wanting to burden them with anything more than the lives they already had to live. She remembers learning to force hunger down, yet, another hunger for deliverance had begun to manifest itself within her mind. 

The CEO opens her eyes to force herself out of the harsh reality of what once was, and is hit with immense satisfaction gazing upon the towering, extravagant perfection of her home. 

Everything she’s tackled, she’s conquered. And that’s what makes it taste so good.

The sound of one of the doors opening brings Sooyoung out of her thoughts. She looks over her shoulder to see her stunning wife gently shutting the door. Jiwoo, in a short white robe, walks toward her in the low light, holding two glasses and her favorite bottle of strawberry champagne. 

She sets them down on the floor behind Sooyoung’s head, and leans over to kiss her wife on the cheek. “I figured you’d be here,” she says, pouring a drink for Sooyoung, before walking on the platform to the opposite end of the hot tub.

Jiwoo sits on the edge to submerge her legs in the hot water. “Is everything okay honey?” 

“Yes,” she hums. “Just… thinking,” Sooyoung says with a light sigh.

“About?” Jiwoo prods, tentatively. 

Sooyoung looks across the water at Jiwoo, her sweet Jiwoo, perfect features that glow in the blue light and eyes that exude only love for her wife. “About how lucky I am.”

Jiwoo smiles, blushing hard, and excited to tell her the good news she got today. “Guess what I did today.” 

“What?”

“I signed off to guest star on MasterChef,” Jiwoo says, smiling proudly into her drink.

Sooyoung gasps.  _ “Jiwoo!”  _ she nearly shrieks in happiness, breaking from her usual airy voice. “That is amazing! I’m so proud of you-”

“Not so fast,” Jiwoo says, holding up a finger at her confused wife. “I already told Irene which PTA events to put us down for, and Field Day was one of them. And I’m going to be filming that week, so you’re going to volunteer.” 

Sooyoung tenses. “Oh gosh...” She cringes heavily with narrowed eyes. “Really?” Sooyoung is looking for a loophole out of this. “How about… we tell her we’re both out of town?” she suggests.

“Sooyoung, you’ve seen how she is...” Jiwoo says the last part through grit teeth and a smile, as her wife remembers how Irene nearly had a brain aneurysm when the PTA meeting was two minutes behind schedule. “And you’re going to do it for Hyejoo! Because she’s scared of you.”

Sooyoung knits her brows in confusion. “She’s what?”

“She’s scared of you. She had a summer project about her parents and was too scared to ask you anything,” Jiwoo says seriously. “So now I’m putting my foot down. You’re going to be there.”

Sooyoung, for Jiwoo’s sake, entertains the possibility of going to her daughter’s school and engaging in PTA. Standing around to assist with children’s activities with suburban moms was definitely not her $600 cup of tea. She looks out into the distant city in concentration, whirlpooling her champagne in her glass. 

_ What did that Irene say that Field Day was, again? _ She tries to think back to that night, and instead of remembering the details of the event, she can only remember the abhorrent sensation of an entire basket of garlic bread in her face.

_ Jinsol. _ Sooyoung scoffs a little into her drink, narrowing her eyes in irritation so hard that she can barely see. She thinks about the wretched blonde - the way the woman had no idea how to eat spaghetti peacefully, the competition she created when she tried to challenge her over every little thing, and most of all, how she just  _ knows  _ Jinsol was responsible for The Bugatti Incident ten years ago. 

But if Jinsol was at that meeting, it means that she might be there too. 

_ Would it be so bad to finally put her in her place? Publicly? While everyone watches her, humiliated, like the loser she is?  _ “Okay,” Sooyoung smiles warmly at Jiwoo. “No problem, baby.” 

Jiwoo pauses, and widens her eyes.  _ Well that was easier than I thought.  _ She relaxes, happy that Sooyoung is finally,  _ finally _ ready to spend time with their daughter. “Good, because I didn’t want to yell,” she affirms, twisting and lifting her legs out of the water to stand.

Jiwoo begins to undo her loose robe to reveal her black designer swimsuit. Sooyoung electrifies at the fine sight, and begins to stare shamelessly, eyeing her wife’s gorgeous body as the swimsuit accentuates all the right places. She smiles. “You would’ve yelled at me?” Sooyoung teases flirtatiously.

Jiwoo must have noted the way Sooyoung was desirously eyeing her exposed figure, because she steps into the bubbling hot water with a smirk. “I would’ve.” 

“So authoritative,” Sooyoung breathes, as Jiwoo slowly walks closer to her with a playful smile in the water in the glowing blue water. “Who do you think you are?” 

Jiwoo just giggles. When they’re finally only inches apart, Jiwoo stares into Sooyoung’s darkening eyes. “I’ve been waiting for this all day,” she whispers lustfully, staring at Sooyoung’s lips.

“Is that so?” she responds with a smirk.

Jiwoo puts her arms around Sooyoung’s neck, and just when the taller woman begins to lean in for a passionate kiss - “I’ve been  _ craving _ some champagne!” 

Sooyoung feels like Jiwoo just put an ice pack on her vagina.

While Jiwoo reaches to pour alcohol into her skinny glass behind Sooyoung’s head, she presses herself up against Sooyoung’s chest, making the CEO’s breath hitch and temperature rise all over again. Her lips flutter unnecessarily by the spot behind Sooyoung’s ear that Jiwoo knows she likes, and Sooyoung knows then and there that Jiwoo is being a tease. Then, all of a sudden, she can feel Jiwoo climbing off of her.

Before she can leave, Sooyoung possessively jerks Jiwoo into her lap.

Jiwoo has a mischievous smile all over her face, looking to the side and avoiding eye contact. To which Sooyoung lifts her fingers, and tilts Jiwoo’s chin forcing her to meet her dark eyes.

“Be a good girl for me.” 

Jiwoo’s lips crash into hers. They kiss and they kiss as Sooyoung’s hands anchor Jiwoo to her lap, roaming to hold every inch of her back and slowly sliding under the waistband of her two piece. Jiwoo’s arms move back around her wife’s head, while Sooyoung hungrily kisses at Jiwoo’s neck.

Everything was not happening fast enough as Jiwoo spread her legs and pressed down with her hips onto Sooyoung’s bare thigh, letting out the most sinful whine. 

Sooyoung pulls her impossibly closer in her lap and lowers her mouth to leave more kisses and marks on her unblemished skin, living for the every whimper she elicits from her wife. 

Jiwoo reaches down once more to pull Sooyoung in for a long, slow kiss, then with an innocent little smile, abruptly whispers onto her lips “I should really get to bed.”

Before Sooyoung knows it, Jiwoo is climbing off her lap and stepping out of the pool. The CEO is left dumbstruck and alone, breathing heavily, watching Jiwoo pick up her robe and calmly walk away. Sooyoung relaxes and attempts at regulating her breathing; if Jiwoo changed her mind, that’s something she can and will respect.

But before Jiwoo can get too far, she stops, and turns to look at Sooyoung one more time before entering their home. “I do need to shower before bed though,” she says, smirking. And just like that, she’s gone, into their home and walking up their staircase.

Sooyoung nearly slips as she scrambles out of the pool, bolting to the door. Jiwoo may have her wrapped around her finger, but she’ll be damned if she lets her get away with that.

After all… she always makes sure to take what’s hers.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! Here’s a gift- we already wrote the next chapter. Tell us in the comments your favorite things about this one as always, then enjoy the feast sdkfjsdk! - Cat


	5. Aquarium of the Pacific

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey QUEENS i hope u like this LONG ASS chapter i personally really liked writing it like i literally burst a lung ok bye have fun<3 stream zimzalabim - daniela

The next day, the students and staff of St. Jihyo’s Presidential Academy wait in their parking lot down their school’s hill.  _ The transportation should be arriving any moment now, _ Principal Haseul thinks to herself, double checking her Minion-themed clipboard to make sure they’re on schedule. 

“Hey,” she hears, and looks up to see that it’s Vivi, walking towards her in a floppy sun hat, looking radiant as ever. “Can I keep you company?” she asks in her soft, soothing voice that Haseul dreams of hearing morning noon and night.

“Of course,” Haseul barely hoarses out. She clears her throat nervously, and Vivi stands next to her.

“Are you excited?” Vivi asks, smiling sweetly.

“To be honest… not really,” Haseul says. “I get seasick. But it’s okay, I came prepared!” Haseul sifts through the contents of her fanny pack and pulls out a pair of enormous noise-cancelling headphones.

“...What?”

“It’s just, it’s… the sound of the ocean,” Haseul says, putting the gigantic headphones over her ears. “I CAN’T HEAR A THING!” she yells, and Vivi laughs in response.

The art teacher taps the side of the headphones to get Haseul to take them off. “Can I tell you a secret?” Vivi whispers.

“Secret secrets are no fun. Secret secrets, hurt someone.” Haseul omens randomly.

“What?” 

“Nothing. Yes of course you can always tell me a secret,” Haseul nervously laughs like the dork she is.

“I don’t really know the rest of the teachers chaperoning here on a conversational basis,” Vivi says, looking around the crowded parking lot. “Since it’s my first year here.” 

Haseul can sense her nervousness - she remembers her first year, how intimidated she felt. “You can be my buddy for this one,” she reassures with a kind smile.

Vivi laughs. “Just this one?”

“As many as you want,” Haseul says, turning her head to hold eye contact with Vivi, and that look alone is enough to throw Haseul for a loop for the rest of the day.

“Why don’t I give you my number?” Vivi asks, and Haseul’s heart races in her chest, mouth instantly going dry.

“I- uh,” This is the moment Haseul has been waiting for, but she didn’t know it would come this soon! 

“In case we lose each other later,” Vivi clarifies, and Haseul sinks in realization, praying hard that Vivi doesn’t notice how red her face had become.

“Haha, right! HAH! My number is… Oh God what’s my number again…” Haseul can’t think straight when Vivi is staring at her like _ that _ , with her patient smile. “Haha okay… 9, 1, 1, NO that’s… haha that’s not it.” 

The art teacher is actually laughing at her lousy attempt at humor, and Haseul has no idea how this woman seems to find her funny when no one else on the planet does. (Besides Yeojin, but that’s always laughing _at_ her.) Haseul manages to recall her digits eventually, and Vivi registers them as a contact while Irene approaches them from the other end of the lot. The PTA president is donning all black and skinny sunglasses. 

“What up Men In Black!” Haseul banters, and Irene just looks at them with a straight face.

“Hi Irene, everything alright?” Vivi asks.

Irene sighs deeply. “Seulgi and I went to a wedding last night, and I don’t mix well with alcohol. Or… anything that gets one under the influence for that matter.” Irene explains groggily. 

“Oh yeah, I heard you get extra loopy,” Haseul says.

“Who did you hear that from?” 

“The grapevine,” Haseul winks. Irene, again, does not laugh. (But Vivi does!) “A little bir- okay, I heard it from Seulgi.”

“Well that’s only because she was there when I tried Mary Juana in college… and let me just say… never again. Alcohol, on the other hand, is processed just fine,” Irene winces. "Well at least until the day after.” she says, pressing fingers to rub her forehead.

“YOOOOO WHAT THE  _ FUCK!”  _ Yeojin screams excitedly among the crowd of students, and the PTA president, principal, and art teacher look up to see three all-black luxury buses begin to pull into the parking lot. 

“YEOJIN WILL YOU  _ PLEASE- _ Oh my,” Haseul breathes, astounded. “When did we get these?” Haseul should probably know, since she’s... the principal. But let’s be real, Irene is the real principal here. 

“They were donations. From one of the moms,” Irene says.

“Which one?” Vivi asks.

“Sooyoung Ha,” Irene says, managing an eye roll from behind her sunglasses.

“Oh! The fashion CEO? You know, I saw her on The Buzzfeed the other day.” Haseul says with a nod.

“It’s Buzzfeed. Just, Buzzfeed.” Irene corrects. Yeri’s really been supplying her with this kind of knowledge.

“Prrrretty sure it’s The Buzzfeed Irene, I think I would know.” Haseul says, sure of herself.

As the buses begin to pull in closer to the crowd of kids, Irene screams in horror as her daughter, Yeri, Naruto runs in front of the still-moving leading bus, causing it to harshly brake while Yeojin cackles. Irene puts her face in her hands in stress. 

“You know,” Vivi starts, “the ride is an hour or two, and I heard the seats recline,” she says in support.

Irene, realizing she is free to sleep, sprints to board the bus and knocks three students down in the process. 

When the St. Jihyo’s 8th grade class is finally segregated into their three groups for each bus, Yeojin and Yeri, in their matching bucket hats, rush onto theirs. “YOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Yeojin screams upon seeing the entirety of the luxury bus’s interior, making the driver right next to her hiss in pain. 

Inside their field trip bus are well-cushioned paired reclining chairs, a lavatory in the back, a smoothie bar with stools, an attendant in uniform like they were on a plane, and a walkway wide enough for an obese child to make snow angels without hitting the seats.

Chaewon and Hyejoo file in first to sit in the middle, knowing they will be sitting next to each other, no discussion needed. Yeri and Yeojin follow, taking the seats in front of them. 

As Choerry boards the bus with her boyfriend in tow, she hears “Choerry, over here!” Nayeon is sitting next to Jeongyeon, and is pointing expectantly to the two seats in front of her that she appears to have saved.

And then again, Choerry hears that joy-filled crackhead laughter. She looks further to see Yeojin and company, laughing incredibly hard, despite them just boarding the bus less than a minute ago. 

The purple-haired girl walks with Chad to take the seat Nayeon saved for her, but something that she can’t explain is stopping her from doing so - something pulling her in another direction. 

_ “Choerry,”  _ Nayeon menaces, “You’re holding up the line.” 

It’s hard, it’s uncomfortable, and Choerry doesn’t even know if she’s making the right decision - but like fighting to walk to shore to escape a tugging tide, Choerry takes a leap of faith and walks right past Nayeon to take the open seats in front of Yeojin and Yeri.  

“Choerry, what are you doing!” Nayeon nearly yells.

“Don’t worry about it, we have all day!” Choerry nervously shouts back from her and her boyfriend’s new seats, settling in.  

“Well well well…” Yeojin says, peering over the top of the seat in front of her to look down at Choerry. “If it isn’t Barney.” Choerry opens her mouth to say something sweet in return, but instead -

“Hey don’t talk to my girlfriend like that you fuckin’ gremlin,” Chad asserts from his seat, narrowing his eyes at the delinquent.

“Chaddington! What happened to your accent? How’s the queen doing by the way, is William still a cheater?” Yeojin retorts smugly.

“You wanna go, you little troll?”

“Yeri look, now the talking crumpet is trying to preach to us,” Yeojin says to her seat partner-in-crime. 

“I DON’T KNOW HOW TO CRUMP YEOJIN,” Yeri screams with closed eyes and both airpods in, clearly not hearing what her friend has said. Yeojin reaches to yank both of her airpods out, and Yeri yells in pain. 

“FUCK!” she screams, and she turns to see Irene, from the front, already giving her the death stare with her nightmask pulled off. “Hahaha I’m sleeping,” Yeri says full of fear, hiding herself behind the seat. 

Behind them, Hyejoo looks through her small tote bag and her jean pockets for her own pair of airpods so that her and Chaewon can listen to music together. That’s their routine for every field trip, and Hyejoo has a lengthy playlist prepared with their favorite tracks. 

As the dark-haired girl finds the charging case, she looks over at Chaewon in her floral dress who is delicately lowering the window, then sinking back into her seat with an excited smile. 

“You… l-look,”  _ Pretty today. Extra pretty today.  _ Hyejoo wants to say it, but she can’t get the words out. 

“Hmm?”

“You look like you’re ready for some music,” Hyejoo goes with instead, handing her crush the other airpod and picking a song to start with from their playlist.

Chaewon, with the airpod in, screeches at the first chord of the song, immediately recognizing the track. In her high voice, she says “Chun-Li! My favorite!”

[Hyejoo’s playlist is more Chaewon’s favorites (the ones that the brunette can tolerate), as opposed to her own. But Chaewon idolizes Nicki Minaj, and Hyejoo loves playing as Chun-Li in Street Fighter - they’ll always find their silver linings.]

Chaewon proceeds to bounce in her seat and rap every word flawlessly in her little voice. “Call me 2 Chainz, name go ding dong, bitch it's King Kong, yes I'm King Kong, this is King Kong? Yes, Miss King Kong.” Hyejoo just giggles and nods her head along, enamored with the star of her free show.

Yeojin, in the back of the bus, is harassing the smoothie attendant. “I want one of everything,” the short girl declares, gesturing to all the nozzles on the machines behind the bar.

“You want… a glass of every flavor?” The attendant asks in disbelief.

“No, you  _ fool. _ I want one of everything in one glass. God. Where do they hire you people.” The attendant begins to do what she asks. Yeojin’s phone buzzes in her lap.

**Yeri** : god i cant wait to shit in that bathroom

Hyejoo, looking to Yeojin receiving her beverage from the smoothie bar, asks Chaewon “Do you want me to get you anything?”

“Can we just eat the desserts your mom packed?” The tiny blonde smiles.

“Of course,” Hyejoo says, looking for the insulated container in her tote. One afternoon last year, Jiwoo had asked Hyejoo how the homemade dessert she packed for her tasted. Hyejoo told her she didn’t know because she gave it to Chaewon, and Jiwoo has packed her two ever since. 

Haseul, Vivi, and Irene are all assigned to board the same bus. Sadly for Haseul, they have to split up; Haseul takes the back, Irene is already passed out in the front, and Vivi sits at the emergency exit in the middle.

Vivi moves to the front to do a roll call, and calls for everyone’s attention. Suddenly, the entire bus erupts into boisterous cheering and applause. “MISS WOOOOONG,” someone gutturally yells. 

“MOTHER VIVI-SA,” Yeojin chants. “MOTHER VIVI-SA, MOTHER VIVI-SA,” and nearly all the students on the bus are chanting at the top of their lungs.

From her seat in the back, Haseul’s heart warms at the sight of the students taking such a strong liking to the new teacher. Vivi gets everyone to settle down with her soft laughter, and successfully calls roll. When she finishes, they dramatically begin to clap again, then settle back into their seats as the bus begins to move.

***

Outside of the massive, reflective blue buildings of the Aquarium of the Pacific, all the eighth graders are gathered by the central fountain. The sun beats down mercilessly on them all, but the occasional oceanside breeze helps.

Principal Haseul whips out her bullhorn and tells all the students that she will be reading off the names for pre-assigned small groups that the eighth graders will be in for the entirety of the day.

Choerry, sitting at the rim of the fountain, is being a good listener while Dahyun recounts the time when she met Nash Grier in a Wendy’s parking lot. Too good of a listener, in fact, that she doesn’t hear Haseul calling out her name. 

“Choerry!” She calls again, and so do other students trying to get the purple-haired girl’s attention. “You’re in this group.” Taken aback, Choerry stands, and heads over to the section she’s supposed to stand by. She’s never been completely separated from her circle even in field trip groups; Choerry is sure at least one of their names will be called next.

“Yeojin,” Haseul reads off her clipboard. “Hyejoo, Chaewon, Oh God who made this list. Yeri,” she continues, reading off a few more names, and before Choerry knows it the principal has moved on to read the next group. Choerry stands awkwardly, feeling uncomfortable and alone, as the other students in her group begin to gather near her.

“What’s wrong madam president? Feeling lonely without your pet monkey by your side?” Yeojin sneers at Choerry. 

“Chad is not my pet.” Choerry says in response. 

“I was talking about Nayeon, but if the shoe fits.” Yeojin steps closer, her eyes barely visible under her bucket hat.  

“Hey friends, let’s keep things crackalackin,” Chaewon says in her tiny voice with a peace sign and a pose, Hyejoo at her side. 

“We’re going on some kind of tour first, right?” Hyejoo asks.

“Yeah, then we’re supposed to go whale watching afterwards,” Yeri says. 

“The only whale I’m watching is that fat ass,” Yeojin says, staring out to the aquarium’s entrance at a tall blonde with her back turned to them.

The woman, clad in business casual, is talking to employees in front of her, and just when Choerry is starting to think that she looks familiar -

“OH  _ SHIT _ CHOERRY! Ain’t that your _ mom?”  _ Yeojin gasps. 

The blonde turns around, and is indeed Dr. Jinsol Kim - Choerry’s mother, whose ass Yeojin just compared to a whale. 

Choerry has her head in her hands, but Jinsol can recognize her daughter’s purple hair from a mile away. “Choerry!” she says, with a big smile on her face.

“Ohhhhohohoh my God…” Yeojin grins nervously at the hot mom walking closer to their group. 

“She’s so pretty,” Chaewon breathes with wide, sparkling eyes.

“Hey!” Jinsol says, as her daughter looks up at her in confusion and her classmates look to her in awe.

“Hey…?” Choerry says, puzzled. “You’re... here? Don’t you work at like, a corporate office…?” She asks somewhat coldly.

Jinsol picks up on the tone. Jungeun never said reconnecting with their daughter would be easy, but she’s going to try nevertheless.

“I do, but I knew you guys were coming today and I wanted to do your tour group!” Jinsol says with a smile, and Choerry just continues to look perplexed. 

The girl can’t even remember the last time she’s even interacted with her mother and it wasn’t a minuscule, depthless conversation at home.  _ Random...  _ Choerry remarks internally.

“Are these your friends?” Jinsol asks her daughter, smiling at everyone.

“No, not rea-”

“Hi ma’am, pleasure to meet you,” Yeojin says extending her hand to the CEO, with a complete 360 shift in demeanor and tone. “I’m Yeojin, part-time eighth grader, full-time rap god.”

***

Choerry’s eyes hurt from rolling so much. 

Her mother, at the front of the line, is giving yet another overly dramatic presentation on some sea animal that was right in front of them behind the thick glass wall.

Jinsol had been doing this at every exhibit they had stopped in front of. Whether it was jellyfish or stingrays, she never missed a single second to show off her aquatic intelligence. Choerry might’ve been enjoying it if it was just her and her mom. But because Jinsol has barely made eye contact with her daughter throughout the entirety of the tour so far, it just feels like she’s showing off to everyone  _ but _ her. 

“Alright everyone, if you’ll walk this way we can go on to the next exhibit. I actually have a skit I prepared for this one!” Jinsol begins walking proudly towards another room, gesturing for the students to follow her. 

Choerry trudges along with the crowd, and is about to witness her mother perform a one-woman show on the life of a starfish when she overhears someone whispering behind her.

“Are we ready for the operation?”

Choerry turns to see Yeri talking to Yeojin a few steps away.

“Affirmative.” Yeojin chuckles deviously, and she and Yeri quietly sneak off toward the shark exhibit.

Choerry stopped to think for a moment. What she  _ should _ do is probably just ignore them and continue along with the group. She turns back towards the glowing blue room ready to resume her trip, but stops in her tracks when she sees her mother switching rapidly between starfish costumes. 

With a sigh, she starts making her way towards the shark exhibit.

After various twists and turns, Choerry is just about ready to give up on finding the other two girls. It isn’t until the final tank at the end of the room that she spots Yeri alone, standing against the wall and looking apprehensively side to side. Choerry scans the area for the smaller, louder girl but doesn’t see any sign of her. 

Suddenly, the door reading ‘EMPLOYEES ONLY’ opens, and Yeojin steps out rolling a cart with a giant tank on top of it. Inside, clearly swimming around is a small shark. She hands the cart off to Yeri.

“You know what to do.” Yeojin says seriously. Yeri nods, then swiftly rolls the cart down another corridor.

Yeojin brushes off her hands and begins jogging to leave the premises, but before she can go any further, she runs straight into Choerry. They both fall to the ground. Stepping back up, Yeojin squints at the girl in front of her and huffs out in frustration.

“What are you doing here Waluigi? You could’ve blown my cover!” Yeojin crosses her arms.

“Are you… stealing from my mom’s aquarium?” Choerry tilts her head genuinely confused.

“You just don’t understand my craft.” With that, Yeojin makes her way back to the group, flipping her hair in Choerry’s face on the way.

Choerry is unsure of what just happened, but for some reason, she feels herself stifling a giggle. She follows Yeojin who’s rejoined the rest of their classmates. Yeri is somehow there too already, completely shark-less. Her mother seems to have finished up whatever she was doing and is smiling wide, clearly not noticing that her daughter was even gone. 

“Alright guys! Let’s go to the boats!”

***

“No offense, but this is hella boring.” Yeri groans from the back of the boat, her head thrown behind her. Her airpods had finally died, and she’d been waiting with her group for whales for about 40 minutes now.

The boat rocks steadily beneath them as they sit in the ocean, the aquarium’s glistening blue buildings barely visible from where they sit. Their group had been cut in half for the boat trip, leaving only Yeri, Hyejoo, Chaewon, Choerry, and-

“Finally someone fucking said it!” Yeojin remarks, slapping her legs and standing up to stretch.

Choerry looks up to see if their boat’s driver would say anything about Yeojin’s shameless profanity, but Haseul was sitting comfortably at the steer, ears covered with giant black noise-cancelling headphones. Choerry had heard her briefly mention to them that, for some reason, the sloshing of the waves makes her seasick as opposed to the swinging movement, and still doesn’t understand how that works.

“I mean... It can get fun! We just have to sit still for a little longer. I’ve seen them before.” she says, in reference to a time long, long ago. Choerry doesn’t know why, but she has the urge to impress the others. It is, kind of,  _ her _ aquarium.

“Hate to break it to you Choerry, but I really don’t think we’ll be seeing whales anytime soon.” Hyejoo sighs, leaning slightly on Chaewon without even realizing.

Choerry feels a strange, urging sense of panic, and forces herself to come up with something. “I  _ do _ have Heads Up on my phone…”

“I guess we don’t have a lot of other options do we. Plus, I’m kind of the shit at this game.” Yeojin holds out her hand for Choerry to pass over her phone. She scrolls through the various decks and settles on the one titled ‘Act It Out’.

“Here Chae, you go first, you’re better at guessing.” Yeojin hands Choerry’s phone over to Chaewon who then lifts it up to her forehead, ready to try to guess the word that her friends will silently act out in front of her. The game’s signature sound effect dings and the first word appears.

**TRAMPOLINE**

All the kids start slightly bouncing on the boat, careful not to move too forcefully.

“Uhh… bouncing? Umm… jumping? Um...” Chaewon’s eyebrows knit in confusion as the girls continue to bounce. 

Choerry, seeing the little success of their efforts at physical pictionary, decides to switch tactics. She stands, still bouncing, however now she’s moving her hands in a ridiculously aggressive, patternless, and frenzied manner while doing so.

“Jazz hands? Crack addict? ASS by Nicki Minaj?”

Hyejoo’s eyebrows crinkle. “Why would that be it?”

“You guys are bouncing to the beat of it.” Chaewon states matter-of-factly.

“Choerry, what the fuck are you doing?” Yeojin looks over at the purple haired girl going crazy in the corner.

Choerry continues moving her hands but this time, she decides to jump for real. Unfortunately, she lands on an unused life jacket and slips backwards. Choerry’s body is now halfway off the boat’s edge, head first.

“OH MY GOD!” Her group mates scream, as Choerry falls backwards in slow motion off the boat and into the Pacific Ocean.

“Oh I know!” Chaewon gasps and claps, as if not having noticed her classmate literally falling out of their boat. “TRAMPOLINE!” 

The other eighth graders run to the side to see Choerry, soaking wet and frantically dog-paddling to keep herself afloat. “Oh shit.”

Yeojin takes a beat to process what just occurred, and then falls over rolling on the boat’s floor. Yeojin is laughing so much that tears are coming out of her eyes and noise can’t even come out.

Yeri looks worriedly at Choerry, now floundering more intensely in the water, not even able to speak as she fights off the infinite water to gasp for air. “Um... guys? I don’t think she can swim.” 

“Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God.” Chaewon is panicking and pacing back and forth across the floor uselessly, nearly stepping on a laughing Yeojin who is about to burst a lung from her wheezing. 

“I guess it’s just us.” Hyejoo groans calmly walking over to Yeri, who is for once very concerned. “Rock, paper, scissors to see who saves her?”

Yeri nods and both girls raise and lower their fists before displaying their moves.They do, and Hyejoo points a finger gun at Yeri. 

“That’s not a fucking move!” Yeri exclaims. 

“Fine.” Hyejoo sighs. Choerry ferally screams from the water to their side, about to drown while her classmates take their sweet time playing games.

Both girls count to three and display their moves once more. Hyejoo holds her fist in a ball while Yeri’s hand is flat. Hyejoo rolls her eyes and walks over to the side of the boat where Choerry is. She grabs a life preserver under a seat next to her, and heads over to the edge. 

“CHOERRY. GRAB THIS, I’LL PULL YOU IN.” Hyejoo lofts the life preserver in Choerry’s general direction and grips on to the rope attached to it.

“Oh God,” Chaewon is still reciting behind them as she paces frantically in a never-ending circle. “Oh GOD!” Chaewon randomly starts screaming, still not doing anything to help. “OH GOD!”

Principal Haseul still has her back turned, deaf and oblivious. 

After splashing around and going nowhere for another two whole minutes, Choerry is able to finally grab onto the floatation device.

Hyejoo is working on pulling her in when all of a sudden the motor starts.

“Alright kids we’re heading back!” Haseul says, barely checking on the kids behind her before violently lurching the boat forward. 

“OH SHIT!” Yeojin, who just managed to stand up, is thrown into a barrel roll across the boat from the force. Chaewon is knocked down to the floor. Hyejoo almost falls into the water, but Yeri catches her by the legs, keeping her on the boat. 

“YEOJIN TELL YOUR OLD WOMAN TO STOP!” Yeri squeals, barely managing to keep a hold on Hyejoo. “CHOERRY IS BASICALLY TUBING BRO.”

Yeojin, despite her mother’s psychotic driving, manages to stand once more, and looks over to the back of the boat. Poor Choerry is hanging on to the life preserver for dear life and is being pummeled ruthlessly through the water. Yeojin has to look away to keep herself from bursting into laughter again. 

“MOM!” She tries to make her way to their designated chaperone, but everytime she gets close enough in reach to shake her shoulder, Haseul unknowingly jerks the boat violently in another direction. “MOTHER!” Haseul jerks the wheel again, sending Yeojin to the floor.

“JESUS CHRIST YOU CRAZY HAG,” Yeojin shakes off the pain when suddenly, she catches a glimpse of a box next to her on the boat’ floor labeled ‘EMERGENCY’. Yeojin reaches out and opens the box, pulling out a small bright orange flare gun. Aiming slightly in front of her mother, Yeojin pulls the trigger sending a screaming flare straight into the sky.

Startled, Haseul kills the motor. She takes off her headphones while rolling her eyes upon seeing the flare.

“Yeojin how many times have I told you- Oh...” 

Haseul looks back at the discombobulated pre-teens on her boat. All the kids were off their feet, some barely hanging on to the edges. Yeri was pinning Hyejoo onto the floor, both of their eyes closed in relief that the movement had stopped. She noticed Hyejoo holding a rope that Haseul followed off the boat in time to see Choerry shaking violently on the life preserver.

“Irene’s going to kill me.” Haseul whispers under her breath as she runs to the back to pull Choerry to safety.

***

Haseul’s boat group decides to go to lunch a little earlier because of the incident. Yeri, Yeojin, Hyejoo, and Chaewon sit on the grass opening up their snacks. Choerry sits with them, soaking wet and wrapped in a towel that Irene not-so-politely asked an employee for when she had met them at the dock.

Hyejoo pulls out a pack of gummy dolphins that she bought from the gift shop. She rips the bag open and instinctively offers some to Chaewon, who graciously accepts. 

Chaewon takes a handful and begins to toss them at Hyejoo playfully, evoking laughter from both girls when one bounces off Hyejoo’s nose. Now more prepared from the previous attempt, Hyejoo is able to catch the next dolphin in her mouth.

“Hey can I try?” Choerry asks from beside them, still managing to be perky with her messy, tangled hair a darker shade of purple from the ocean water dampening it.

“Sure,” Yeojin says, as she reaches across the grass, picks up the candy bag and hurls it at Choerry, hitting her directly in the face. 

“YEOJIN!” Chaewon reaches across from her and pushes her enough for Yeojin to lose her balance. “Come on, she had a bad day.”

Choerry rubs her nose and blinks, barely harmed. “It’s fine...!”

Yeojin sits up and her shoulders slump slightly. “No she’s right, I mean... you did fall off a boat.”

For the first time since the incident Choerry makes eye contact with Yeojin... and like some sort of volcano, laughter erupts from inside her. It starts slow with little low giggles, then suddenly, she is cackling and falling to the grassy floor. The other girls look at her, confused.

“I FELL OFF A BOAT.” Choerry chortles profusely on the floor. Yeojin starts chuckling too, and soon enough the whole group is laughing together. 

“You really did.” Yeojin has tears coming out of her eyes. “And I…” she barely says through laughter, “...had to pop a cap to get my mom’s attention!” The group bursts into hysterics yet again.

_ “CHOERRY!”  _

All the girls whip their head around to see their remaining classmates flood the picnic area. Nayeon is standing near a tall tree with Dahyun, Jeongyeon, and Chad, clearly waiting expectantly for the purple haired girl to join them.

“Well you better get back to your presidential cabinet. Your bitch is calling you.” Yeojin says, her demeanor far different from the joy they all shared a few seconds ago. 

Reluctantly, Choerry stands up. She doesn’t realize how comfortable she’d been feeling until the sensation begins to dissipate. “Thanks for the candy.” She turns and slowly makes her way back to her usual group of friends, almost struggling to step forward.

Elsewhere, Ms. Wong and Principal Haseul sit alone together on the bench of a shaded clearing, distanced from the St. Jihyo’s students that picnic in the grass.

The principal reaches into her bag to bring out her lunch, a sizable fresh salad that she prepared this morning, garnished with strawberry slices and her own vinaigrette. (If Principal Haseul can do  _ anything _ right, it’s make a salad.) Pulling on the lid, she notices that Vivi next to her is yet to take out any food. “Are you gonna eat anything?” Haseul asks her.

“Yeah, um…  Nate is gonna bring me something.”

“Oh,” Haseul tries her best to mask her disappointment as Vivi mentions her boyfriend’s name. “That’s nice of him!”

“Yeah, he’ll be here any minute,” Vivi says with a smile, eyes full of light. 

But five minutes pass… then ten, then twenty - and still, no show. Haseul can feel the air between them shift, can see Vivi’s light fading each time she checks her phone to nothing, can hear the need in her voice even though she says that she doesn’t want to bother him. 

To take Vivi’s mind off of it, the principal begins to talk about her chaotic day with her group of Vivi’s favorite students. She pulls her best (worst) jokes out of her ass to make her laugh, too, silently cursing out the lousy boyfriend of the angel next to her for leaving her lunchless.  _ Well, maybe something happened,  _ Haseul thinks. _ Oh I hope he got in an accident. NO- _

Suddenly, Vivi’s phone buzzes, and Haseul leans over to check, relieved at the possibility of having any news on the art teacher’s lunch. 

They both see it when the notification displays on the screen.

**NATE** **has sent you $30 for Uber Eats**

They stare at it together, in shock and in silence, as the birds around them chirp and younger children in the clearing play. Vivi, disappointed and embarrassed, tries to think of anything to say, but can’t seem to.

“Here,” Haseul says with her normal, casual smile, purposely not making a big deal to so Vivi doesn’t feel more embarrassed. “Eat this,” she says, softly placing the salad onto Vivi’s lap. Haseul hadn’t yet took a single bite of it, insisting on not eating until her coworker got her food.

“No, no it’s okay,” Vivi says, hastily opening the Uber Eats app, not wanting Haseul to have to not eat anything at all because of her. She sorts the choices by fastest delivery times, and sees that the quickest possible option is going to take 45 minutes to get to her. Lunch is over in seven.

“Vivi,” Haseul says, gently placing her hand on the teacher’s shoulder. Vivi stops to look up upon hearing her first name; Haseul’s never called her that before. It sounds sweet when she does. 

“Take it,” Haseul continues. “I had a big breakfast anyway,” she says with a little laugh. (Haseul didn’t eat breakfast at all.)

But that doesn’t matter, nothing else matters to her except making sure Vivi eats. Hesitantly, Vivi accepts the salad.

Vivi thanks Haseul. She’s always thankful for her, really, knows that work wouldn’t possibly be the same without her. The art teacher doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but words can’t express how grateful she feels, so she hopes her eyes say enough as she looks into Haseul’s and smiles meaningfully.

“It’s no problem, really.” Haseul reassures - and she means it. 

Vivi carefully opens up the tupperware. “Can we at least share?” 

***

The brilliant orange sky shines above the students and chaperones of St. Jihyo’s as they stand together in the clearing, waiting for their luxury buses to return and take them home.

“Choerry?” The eighth grader, freezing in her damp towel as the temperature begins to drop, hears the familiar voice of her mother behind her. “Why are you so wet?”

Instantly more irritated, Choerry turns to face Jinsol. “I fell off the boat,” she states dryly.

“ _ What? _ Oh my God!” Jinsol is clearly alarmed - her daughter, even though it wasn’t exactly under her watch, fell into the ocean under her watch.  _ Who the hell  _ was _ watching her, anyway?  _

“Yeah. I almost drowned.” Choerry adds with a frown, fighting the chattering of her teeth. 

“You  _ what?”  _

“You heard me,” she dares.

Jinsol narrows her eyes in confusion and a little bit of offense. Her daughter, characterized by her virtually perpetual bubbliness, is suddenly chock full of attitude. “How could you have drowned though? You know how to swim. I taught you myself.”

“Well I guess you got too  _ busy _ to finish my lessons, because I couldn’t remember.” Choerry retorts harshly, then looks away. 

Jinsol, stunned with guilt, opens her mouth to respond. Nothing comes out. 

Looking back up at her mother’s silence, Choerry scoffs and gathers her things from the floor, preparing to walk away. “I’m leaving,” she says coldly. “I guess you’ll just take your stupid car home. I’ll see you there.” She shoves the towel into her bag. But Choerry still feels years of more bottled-up anger bubbling inside of her, begging for release. “Or... maybe I won’t? Who knows!” 

With that, Choerry, shivering from the cold and her own adrenaline, throws her tote over her shoulder and walks away to join the rest of her classmates. Jinsol stands still, forced to face more of the damage she’s done, and painfully watches her daughter walk away.

***

It’s about thirty minutes later when the buses finally arrive. Choerry, who had been waiting alone, boards the luxury vehicles, gleaming in the darkness. She settles back into her plush seat as her other classmates board as well. There is not yet any sign of her boyfriend, but she saves the seat beside her regardless.

Exhausted, the girl allows herself to lean back and let her eyes close. But just as she is on the brink of slumber, she hears someone settling into the seat next to her.

Not just someone… her mother. Choerry opens her eyes, and upon seeing her she immediately narrows them. “Wh-... Why are you here?” she asks, laced with fatigue.

Jinsol has an unreadable expression as she sets her bag in front of her. “I can get my car tomorrow.”

“...Oh.” Choerry is confused, unsure of how to react, and too tired to object. She doesn’t want to see her mother right now, but sleep weighs heavily on her body. She says nothing more.

Before Choerry closes her eyes again, Jinsol gently sets a new sweater on her daughter’s lap. With the aquarium’s logo on the front, the sweater is fresh out of the gift shop. Choerry is stunned and… maybe just a little bit touched. But she refuses to show it. “Wear this,” Jinsol commands in a soft voice. 

(Jinsol figured, for once, she may as well be there.)

Choerry takes the big sweater and pulls it over her head, then pulls out her wet shirt from under. The sweater’s inside is lined with fleece, and the purple-haired girl practically buries herself into its warmth. Tucking half of her head into the sweater, she closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath of relief from all the freezing cold she’d experienced today.

The bus’s engine starts up, Ms. Wong takes final roll call, the lights inside the bus turn off. Choerry feels herself succumbing to a warm, comfortable sleep. 

Maybe she should thank her mother. But Choerry, out of spite, doesn’t let herself verbalize her gratitude. As she finally drifts away, though… she very, very hesitantly leans to her mother’s side. 

Jinsol, shocked, looks to her daughter resting her head on her shoulder. Choerry’s breathing had slowed, and Jinsol’s was nonexistent - the CEO was too afraid of ruining the moment.  _ When was the last time this happened? _ She can’t even remember. It’s almost as if she’s forgotten what to do completely.

The bus roughly hits a bump in the road, and Choerry, still fast asleep, shifts out of discomfort away from her mother’s shoulder and lays in her lap. 

Jinsol can’t believe it, and her heart swells. After a few minutes, reluctantly, she moves her hand to lightly rub up and down her sleeping daughter’s shoulder. 

Maybe, just maybe, she’s done something right.

Behind the mother and daughter, Haseul sits, her head heavy on the window and her bag in the empty seat next to her. She hears the text tone from her phone, and reaches to check who it was.

**Vivi:** Hi

**Vivi:** I just wanted to say, again, thank you. 

**Vivi:** I really appreciate it. And you.

Haseul’s heart immediately begins to race in her chest, and she sits up, energized.  _ And you. And YOU. _ The last words just repeat over and over in her mind. She types up about a million versions of a reply, from “Always” to “Anything for you,” but they’re all too blatantly gay. She thinks about how Vivi is probably watching as she struggles to type a response, and panics.

**Haseul:** [SENT A STICKER]

Vivi, in her seat, snorts at the image - it’s a minion grinning with its thumbs up. 

And across the aisle from her is Hyejoo, looking at her own phone as well for some music for her and her favorite person to share. 

“Oli,” Chaewon says softly. 

“Hmm?”

“Can you put on the playlist you have with slower songs? It’s calming; I see that you listen to it a lot,” the blonde asks.

“Which one?”

“That one,” Chaewon points. Hyejoo’s playlist that Chae is pointing at is named ‘home’ with a pastel pink shade as its cover icon. “I like that one.”

Hyejoo is frozen - Chaewon is pointing, completely oblivious, at the playlist that Hyejoo made about her. All the love songs that take Hyejoo’s mind to another world, a world where the two of them are more than just friends, every calming fantasy she’s ever had of Chaewon is the soul of this playlist. 

And here her crush is, listening to it in her free time, liking it, and wanting to listen to it together.

“O-okay,” Hyejoo stutters. She presses shuffle.

As the two girls lay back in their seats to rest up from the wild day they’ve had, “By Your Side” by The 1975 begins to play.

The beginning beats hit, and Chaewon, face barely illuminated by the fleeting streetlights through the window beside her, says “I love this one,” with a smile.

Hyejoo stares at her with all the love in the world as the music plays. “...I love it too.” 

***

_ You think I'd leave your side, baby _

_ You know me better than that. _

_ You think I'd leave you down, when you're down on your knees _

_ I wouldn't do that. _

 

_ And if only you could see into me. _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Michael jackson sunbaenim i love you he said EVERYONE COMMENT YOUR FAVORITE PARTS bye oh my god i love Michael jackson sunbaenim


	6. Picture Day + Field Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone in Daniela’s CuriousCat wanted OLIVIA’S PLAYLIST that Hyewon were listening to at the end of the last chapter, so here it is!  
> https://tinyurl.com/y5q32z7s  
> ALSO THIS CHAPTER IS LONG LONG, PREPARE YOURSELF.  
> \- Cat
> 
> hey queenies im going to loonacon LA so u better say hi to me but dont refer to me as the milf smackdown writer in person or else i’ll drop you from the top of the staples center mwah oh also this chapter is REALLY long and i hope u like it -daniela

“Alright, here we go. Olivia, you first.”

“What are we playing again?”

“ _Who Would You Do._ The St. Jihyo’s staff edition.”

The raven-haired eighth grader had honestly zoned out, too busy focusing on the newly orange leaves falling from the massive oak trees outside. Hyejoo doesn’t really feel like herself today, with a ribbon in her tied hair and a dainty gray shirt dress on, in addition to a nearly full face of makeup. 

This chilly September morning is this year’s dreaded Picture Day, and Jiwoo had woken up early to make sure her daughter looked extra adorable before leaving the house for her Masterchef filming trip. Outside the building, scattered clusters of parents fix up their kids.

Hyejoo waits in line for pictures with Chaewon, Yeojin, and Yeri in the corridor of the main office building. The line ends at one of the classrooms, which had been cleared out as a temporary photo studio for the day. 

“Um…” Hyejoo racks her brain for a name of a staff member she’d “do.” But at the same time, she doesn’t really want to answer as Chaewon looks at her expectantly. Chaewon, with her wavy blonde hair and adorable striped dress. She has to stop herself from staring. “I wouldn’t really... ‘do’ any of the staff,” Hyejoo says.

“Laaaaaame,” Yeojin responds. “Come on. You’re telling me Tiffany isn’t hot?”

“Who is… Tiffany…?” Hyejoo narrows her eyes.

“Ms. Young. Get with it,” Yeojin clarifies.

“Why do you call the teachers by their first names?” Chaewon asks, just as confused as Hyejoo.

“They will be addressed by their government names until they earn my respect. Like, Ms. Wong is Ms. Wong. But Haseul is Haseul,” Yeojin explains.

“She’s… your mother…” Hyejoo says, astonished.

“Hey!” The group is interrupted by a very smiley Choerry, skipping towards them from the end of the baby blue hallway. The girl’s previously all-purple hair now has an ombré to a Starburst pink, probably a last-minute Picture Day decision, although Hyejoo has to admit it does look very nice on her.

“Hey Peppa Pig!” Yeojin greets.

Choerry cheerily settles in front of the group of friends standing against the wall. “You guys all look so nice!” The girl looks at all of them individually with light in her eyes. Choerry is either extremely pure of heart or just a great actress because her impressed expression doesn’t even falter upon seeing Yeojin in an oversized black T-Shirt and a giant gold chain around her neck. “Yeojin what does your shirt say?” Choerry asks with a bubbly smile.

Yeojin moves her arms to reveal the text printed on her shirt in gigantic white letters -

**REAL EYES**

**REALIZE**

**REAL LIES**

“I let my mom pick it out for me,” Yeojin says proudly, nodding her head. “She thought it was really deep.”

“That is very wise,” Choerry says seriously.

“Do you know who said it?” Yeojin tests.

“Umm… Jesus?”

“Equally influential, equally wise. Tupac Shakur.” 

“Oh,” Choerry nods. “Isn’t he, like, dead or something?”

Chaewon covers her mouth and closes her eyes in pain.

 _“Choerry,”_ Yeri hisses, _“That’s not the kind of language we use here,”_ she says seriously.

“I miss him,” Chaewon breathes into her hand, fighting tears. 

“Wha-” Yeojin looks at her with such flared eyes that Choerry fears for her life. “Um, okay sorry sorry! Anyways umm… Whatcha ‘doin?” she asks with her signature pep.

“Vomiting,” Yeojin says.

“We’re playing who would you do with the staff members,” Yeri grins. Yeojin looks at her from behind Choerry, betrayed, and puts her arms up in an X while mouthing profanities. 

“Ooo fun! Can I play?” 

Yeojin sighs, as the line slowly begins to shift closer to the entrance of the picture room. “Okay. Give it a go. Who would you do.”

“Mr. Namjoon.” 

Yeojin rolls her eyes. “Get your het agenda out of here please.”

“First of all… I’m not _het._ Second, I was just... feeling the room.” Choerry says, looking at the other girls who are all visibly unamused. “But okay.” 

“Okay,” Yeojin smirks. “Name one female teacher that’s your type then.”

“Mrs. Chungha is hot.” Choerry says, proudly.

Yeojin nods approvingly. “True. I want her to bake a cake in my ass.”

“She’s so hot,” Chaewon says, suddenly out of her spontaneous post-Tupac depression attack. “She has a belly button ring, you know.” 

Hyejoo narrows her eyes. “How do you even know that?” 

“You can’t prove anything.” Chaewon says matter-of-factly.

Choerry’s phone suddenly begins to alarm in her pocket, and she checks her screen with a gasp. “Ah! I have to get to a student council meeting!”

“Don’t those start at 10:00?” Yeri asks, randomly. “It’s 9:45.” 

“I like to be there ten minutes in advance to prep with Empowering Women podcasts,” Choerry explains with a smile, already fixing her hair. 

Yeojin bows. “The parliament waits for no one.” Choerry giggles, says farewell, and is out the door, crossing the quad to the next building. 

And just when the group is about to resume their game -

Principal Haseul, business-clad, is coming out of her office just a few steps away. She turns to the students lined up against the wall, and gasps dramatically at Yeojin with a giant smile, as if laying eyes on her for the very first time.

“Didn’t she… drop you off at school?” Chaewon asks quietly. 

“OhhHHHHH MY GOD!” Haseul exclaims, drawing the attention of every other student in the hall. “IS THAT THE WORLD’S BEST DRESSED SINGER?” She practically yells at her daughter.

“It’s rapper, but continue,” Yeojin says, smiling as her mother walks towards her and her friends.

“Sorry, I spilled coffee on the notecards you gave me this morning.” 

“It’s fine, we can edit it out.” 

“Edit? This is _literally_ real life.” Hyejoo says, clearly confused.

“Hi girls!” The principal greets at Yeojin’s friends. “Yeojin go over there,” she gestures to the center of the hallway. “Let me get pictures of you.”

The principal’s daughter prepares to position herself in the center of the hallway to pose like a model.

 _“Awwww,”_ Hyejoo teases, “You gonna take pictures with your mommy?”

“Shut the fuck up, where’s your mom huh?”

The words cut through Hyejoo like ice, and suddenly, the atmosphere’s gone sour. 

Her mouth is dry, and she can’t even respond. She feels everyone _looking_ at her, the “Oooo”s coming from peers she doesn’t even speak to who bore witness to Yeojin’s burn. 

They don’t know, Yeojin herself doesn’t even know the way the words have hit a particularly sore spot. 

Hyejoo looks down at the floor, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. She picks up her backpack from behind her and leaves the line, storming off to the girls bathroom in the next hallway.

After making sure the stalls are empty, she leans back on the cold tile wall. Hyejoo looks down at her shoes, tasting blood from how hard she bites her lip to keep herself from crying. 

The solitude doesn’t last for long though, because in mere seconds, the girl sees the bathroom door open in front of her in her peripheral.

She’s tense until she hears the familiar voice. “Oli…” At the presence of another person in her moment of vulnerability, Hyejoo can’t help but feel a bit like the walls are closing in; all she really wants right now is silence and privacy.

Still examining the marks on her shoes, Hyejoo feels Chaewon stand right beside her, and sees her dress in the corner of her eye. “She didn’t mean it, it’s okay…”

 _“Shut up,”_ Hyejoo says harshly. But she regrets the words before they’re even finished coming out of her mouth.

Chaewon, as if she’s just touched a burning object, moves away, stunned and silenced. But she doesn’t leave. Perhaps it hurts more, as Hyejoo’s words echo throughout the silent bathroom.

She hates that she snapped at Chaewon. She hates, for some irrational reason, that she has two moms and neither of them are there. And she hates how embarrassed someone made her feel about it.

Hyejoo’s eyes are still trained at her feet. But after a few moments, Chaewon takes her hand into hers anyway.

***

The Ha residence is dark and lifeless later that night. Sooyoung is working late again, and Jiwoo is, of course, out on her trip, so Hyejoo doesn’t know why she clutches the beloved old wolf plushie so tightly to muffle her sobs. Must be force of habit.

She’s curled up under her duvet in the dark, curtains drawn, and she’s finally let go of every restraint that held back her tears all day. But instead of helping, the more the crying makes her the sadness compound, and the more she pities herself, physically and mentally all alone in the dark. 

Hyejoo cries into the pillow until she’s spent, weak, and can only let out jagged hot breaths with closed eyes. She can’t fight the flurry of bad thoughts from entering her mind.

_All you do is mess everything up_

That one repeats the most.

Suddenly, her phone pings from the other side of the room, interrupting her thoughts. She elects to ignore it, rolling over on her other side. Then, it pings again. 

Hyejoo takes a deep breath. She really just wants to stay in bed - not truly by her own volition, but because the covers feel so heavy and comfortable on her body. But she slowly peels off the blankets and exposes her overheated form to the cold air, sniffling as she steps down from her elevated California king. 

She turns on one of the elegant lights hanging from the ceiling at her bedside, and makes her way to her gaming corner, where her phone rests next to the PC she built herself.

 **Mom:** how is everything at home?

 **Mom:** :)

Hyejoo picks up her phone, but doesn’t raise the keyboard - she doesn’t know what to say, and doesn’t want to lie. She already feels guilty for dampening the mood the other day when they talked downstairs.

Before she can type up some kind of reply with squinted eyes, the phone starts to buzz and the screen is entirely Jiwoo’s caller ID photo (a very close-up selfie of her nostrils she had accidentally taken on Hyejoo’s camera). She doesn’t want to answer, but she just can’t bring herself to reject it. After all, her mother would probably keep calling until she picked up (it wouldn’t be the first time; her record is 26).

Hyejoo clears her throat before picking up. “Hello?” It comes out congested.

There’s a concerned silence on the other end before Jiwoo speaks. “What’s wrong sweetie?” 

The question alone just makes everything real, and every ripping emotion comes up all over again. The tears well up in her eyes. “Nothing,” she hoarses out.

“…Is it a boy?” Jiwoo asks, as Choerry would put it, ‘feeling the room’. Hyejoo’s never opened up about this kind of stuff to her before. 

“NO,” Hyejoo assures, quite aggressively. 

“Okay, how about you tell me what’s wrong honey,” Jiwoo asks her daughter gently over the phone.

Hyejoo squeezes her eyes shut. “It’s…” Two moms aside, she feels terrified opening up about her secret crush on Chaewon to anyone. “It’s a… girl.” 

Jiwoo nods, of course, it’s _her_ daughter, it was stupid to assume she’d be straight. “I’ll kick her ass. I will end her life. I have six black belts from six different institutions. You know how close I am with Dwayne Johnson, he will _not_ say no to me-” 

“What? No, no don’t… do anything, it-” the child sniffles, not quite sure of how to say it. “It was my fault.” Hyejoo bites her lip. She looks out into the darkness of her room.

The celebrity is met with long silence at the other end of the line. 

“Everyone makes mistakes sweetie,” Jiwoo reassures calmingly. “Nobody’s perfect. Not even me!” she jokes enthusiastically in a funny voice.

It gets a little laugh out of Hyejoo. She sighs. “I know, Mom.”

“Hyejoo… Just remember that you can always apologize, and learn from your mistakes. Everyone makes them… But, what matters is when we become better.”

She thinks on her mother’s words. “...Okay,” she replies, followed by some more silence.

“Do you want me to stay on the line? I can sing some Shakira for you if you want-” 

“No, no it’s okay. I think I’m going to. Um. Apologize to… her. Now.”

“Okay sweetie… I’m so proud of you. Just be sincere okay?”

“Okay.”

“And you can always talk to your moms about girls! We’re always here. And… I love you very much, don’t ever forget that,” Jiwoo says sweetly.

Hyejoo smiles. “I love you too.” 

“Sleep well sweetie! And don’t forget to make sure the doors are locked.”

“I will, Mom. Bye,” Hyejoo says, ending the call, feeling a weight taken off her shoulders. 

***

“Oli?”

It’s been an hour of apology practicing later, but suddenly Hyejoo is at a loss for words. “H-Hi,” she stammers, her voice less congested than earlier.

“Hi,” Chaewon says hesitantly, her voice smaller than usual at the end of the line. “Is everything okay?”

 _Just be sincere,_ Jiwoo’s voice echoes in Hyejoo’s mind. “I don’t deserve you.” The girl blurts randomly. Hyejoo has suddenly forgotten the entirety of her script, so she might as well just say what’s on her mind. 

“I- Oli, are you okay? Of course you do-” 

“Chae,” Hyejoo interrupts. “I…” _Why is this so hard?_

_I love you._

She shakes her head. That’s not what this is about.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry for snapping at you. Today.” Hyejoo says, pacing around the room in nervousness. “I don’t… I don’t know why I did, I think I was just overwhelmed - that’s, that’s not an excuse though, and you don’t deserve that ever. I…” Her palms sweat. “I just wanted to tell you… that I didn’t mean to... and that you’re one of the most important people in my whole life and that I’m sorry,” the eighth grader rambles.

“...Wowee,” Hyejoo hears Chaewon say softly into the phone. “Oli... it’s okay, okay?”

“No, it’s not-”

“ _Oli._ It’s all good in the hood,” she says, and it just sounds funny in her high-pitched, tiny soft voice. “I forgive you okay? Just, like, stream my new track on Soundcloud.”

Hyejoo, dizzied just moments ago, suddenly feels anchored once again to her familiar words, her favorite personality. “Chae. I- I won’t do it again-”

“Oli as much as I love hearing your voice-” Hyejoo’s heart flutters. “-it’s really late, go get some sleep...”

“Okay… sorry, sorry… And sorry, again… Goodnight, okay? I’ll… uh... see you tomorrow!” she says with a little skip in her voice, unable to conceal the thrill in her heart.

“Goodnight, I love you,” Chaewon says honestly, effortlessly.

Hyejoo thinks she just might pass out. 

“Oh my God,” she says, dropping her iPhone to the floor. 

Forgetting about the call, she runs to her pillow and screams her lungs out into it. Then, she returns to retrieve her phone only to see that she’d accidentally hung up. “AAAAHH! NO NO _NO!”_ Hyejoo screeches, and redials the blonde as fast as she can.

“Hello?”

“HI! Sorry, um, heh, there’s just really bad reception here, I’m, um, in a tunnel.” Chaewon just laughs and tells her it’s no problem. Hyejoo takes a deep breath. “Goodnight…” Somehow, she musters the strength to say the next words without coming apart. “I love you too.” The words fill her heart to the brim once finally released into the world, and even if they’re not taken the way she means them, they ring true. Hyejoo loves her.

Chaewon laughs a little, and the sound is music to Hyejoo’s ears. Speaking of music, Chaewon really can’t hang up without another shameless plug. “And don’t forget to check out my new track.”

“‘Eat Ass Smoke Grass’ right? I already did. I have your notifications on.”

She hears Chaewon do a little cheer. “Yay! Okay, goodnight Oli!”

Hyejoo hangs up, then squeals. 

***

It’s midnight when Jungeun finally finishes up with work.

As she walks through the private parking structure in downtown Los Angeles, her eyelids are heavy despite the numerous coffees she’s downed today. She gets into the BMW quickly, locks the doors, and takes a moment to lean back and close her eyes as the car’s interior lights dim to blackness. But she won’t let herself fall asleep; she’s done this too many times to know.  

Today was rough. With financial presentations on meetings on reviews, the CFO had not a single moment of rest - and she anticipates work to get more hectic as the week progresses. 

 _At least I don’t have to wake up early,_ Jungeun thanks, as she remembers Jinsol is taking some time off. Taking Choerry to school so early every day was becoming incredibly taxing, especially after consecutive nights like this. 

Speaking of Jinsol, Jungeun’s eyes open at the bright flash of light across the center screen, displaying an incoming call from her wife. Before the ringtone can blare and disrupt the peace, she answers.

“Hi,” Jungeun tiredly says.

 _“Hi baby,”_ Jinsol greets, voice a little higher from the call. _“Just getting off?”_ she asks.

“Mm,” Jungeun hums in response, eyes closing again. 

 _“I just got in bed and I wanted to say goodnight,”_ Jinsol says. _“I probably won’t see you tomorrow morning, since I have that early conference call.”_

Jungeun’s eyes open in panic. “What… conference call?”

_“Not for the aquarium, it’s one for the state Ocean Protection Council.”_

“So... I’m taking Choerry to school tomorrow?” Jungeun asks with a fatigued frown, paining at even the thought of waking up at 6:00 AM again. 

 _“What? Yeah, like you always do, silly,”_ Jinsol laughs all too easily into the phone.

Jungeun doesn’t have the strength to argue, even the tiny possibility of an argument arising is stressful to consider - so she takes one, deep breath, and lowly says - “Okay.” 

 _“Goodnight, I love you,”_ Jinsol says, sleepily.

Jungeun tells her to sleep well, as Jinsol attends to one of her many duties except her family.

***

The sun shines high in the cloudless sky the next day as Jinsol Kim enters St. Jihyo’s Presidential Academy to begin her volunteering for the school’s annual Field Day.

As a fresh PTA member, Jinsol had chosen the eighth grade events she was going to volunteer for, and Field Day was one she was actually quite excited for. The CEO, despite her normally easygoing personality, loved competitive sports. She was actually recently banned from all sports bars in Los Angeles for causing a “public disturbance” during the Rams v. Patriots Super Bowl game. (How was she supposed to know the TV cost $10,000?)

Anyway, she was excited - and even more so when she catches a glimpse of the many fun-looking stations already set up in the grass with music blasting from a massive sound system. As she steps onto the large field, she spots some familiar faces from Olive Garden. Jinsol quickly locates Irene with a big blue bin next to her.

“Jinsol!” the PTA president greets with a smile. “We’re just about to get started. These are the other eighth grade parents that are gonna be helping out today!” Irene gestures to the other ten people around her, and Jinsol smiles kindly. “We’re actually waiting for one more person.”

While waiting, Jinsol makes conversation with two nice ladies who stand next to her. They introduce themselves as Wendy and Joy Park, married with one daughter in Choerry’s class. They’re incredibly pleasant as they colorfully explain to Jinsol what today entails, and how even though their daughter is sick and out for the day, they still wanted to come help out the school. The CEO thinks to herself that this day is going to fly by easily. 

That is, until she spots a tall, trim, and all-too familiar figure approaching the field.

Sooyoung struts towards them to the beat of “M.I.L.F. $” by Fergie suddenly blasting from the speakers lining the field. Donning a perfectly coordinated Nike outfit, the CEO has a venti iced coffee in hand and YSL sunglasses shielding her eyes. Her long ponytail pendulums perfectly with every step, and even with sneakers on she steps on the ground like she’s punishing it for disrespecting her.

All eyes are on her in complete awe, except Jinsol’s, which are rolled back as far as they can go. 

Out of _all_ the events on the calendar that Sooyoung could have chosen, she _had_ to choose this one? 

“Great, Mrs. Ha is here so now we can finally get started,” Irene sends a tightlipped smile in Sooyoung’s direction, and Jinsol notices she doesn’t even wait to get one back before starting. At least someone agrees that Sooyoung Ha is the most obnoxious human being alive.

“Hi everyone, thanks for being on time,” Irene says, looking at everyone but Sooyoung. (Sooyoung knows but honestly doesn’t give a shit.) “Field Day will officially commence in a few minutes! Each of you will be given a list of eighth graders to be your designated team for the day. You are responsible for escorting them to every station. I will give each of you a shirt with your team color for you to wear. I’ll also be giving you a schedule so you know exactly where to be.

“Also, Field Day is a tournament. The winning team will receive a pizza party, and believe me, these kids want a pizza party. Encourage them, but also, make sure they don’t get too out of control.” 

Jinsol and the other parents watch as Principal Haseul quietly walks towards them from behind Irene with a big smile. Haseul is dressed in a bright white polo shirt and khaki shorts. A white line of sunscreen covers the length of her nose, and a matching visor is wrapped around her head. She proudly carries a bullhorn. 

Irene continues her speech while Haseul puts her finger to her lips and mouths a ‘Shhh!’ to the parents, who watch, confused and a bit apprehensive.

Principal Haseul, still undetected by Irene, brings the bullhorn directly to the shorter woman’s ear. _“HEY,”_ she growls into the bullhorn, in a deep voice. 

 _“AHHH!”_ Irene screams at the top of her lungs. Jinsol has to cover her mouth.

Irene scowls at the principal in vehement contempt, while Haseul smiles back at her like an innocent child.

“ANYWAY,” Irene hisses, as an excited Haseul beams at her side. “Whichever team finishes with the most points will compete in the final round - the obstacle course. Remember you are your group’s team leader, so we expect a lot of team spirit for you and the kids to have fun today!” Irene looks around and clasps her hands together.

Jinsol looks over at Sooyoung, who stands alone, a bit isolated from the crowd. _I guess the one thing she can’t do is play well with others,_ Jinsol thinks, almost pitying her before remembering literally anything else about her personality.

“Alright, the students will be coming out any moment, so in single file, come up to get your schedule and shirt,” Irene says, bending down to open the blue bin at her side. 

Jinsol stands and walks towards the forming line before being harshly bumped to the side.

“I was here first sorry.” Sooyoung flips her ponytail directly into Jinsol’s face. 

Jinsol is just about ready to make her bald but before she can, someone taps her shoulder.

“Hey Jinsol! Isn’t this great!” Seulgi smiles brightly, and it takes everything in the CEO not to laugh. 

Seulgi is wearing extremely bright neon leggings and an even brighter flowy top. “We get to spend time with our kids and play games!” The woman is basically overflowing with joy, and Jinsol can’t help but feel a little more at ease. 

Seulgi was right. Jinsol was going to spend more time with her daughter today, and be one step closer to making up for her mistakes of the past. Today was about making progress with Choerry - and Jinsol remembers she shouldn’t be using her energy on anyone else. Especially not Sooyoung, no matter how much she wanted to rock her shit.

“Umm, Irene? Can I change my team color? Red doesn’t really match my outfit,” Jinsol hears Sooyoung ask in front of her upon receiving her shirt.

“No,” Irene says flatly, not even making eye contact. “Jinsol,” she calls, moving on. Sooyoung narrows her eyes under her shades, snatches the shirt and walks away.

Jinsol, now donning a bright blue t-shirt, looks over her team list. A warm smile blooms on her face when she sees Choerry’s name towards the top. The only other name she faintly recognized was at the bottom.

**YEOJIN JO**

The “full-time rap god” she met outside the aquarium who had called her THICC (which the eighth grader quickly clarified as “Thoughtful, Honest, Intelligent, Caring, and Compassionate”). 

_Well, this is going to be an interesting day._

***

 _How the fuck does she keep winning?_ Sooyoung thinks to herself as she watches Jinsol’s high-spirited bunch of children win yet another game. 

Jinsol’s team had been competing at the station before Sooyoung’s all day long, so the latter had been forced to witness Jinsol’s success three times in a row and as hear every obnoxious cheer they happily sang together.

Sooyoung and her nemesis weren’t even in the same bracket, but it absolutely irked the taller CEO that Jinsol and her band of misfits were clearly on their way to the championship.

And losing? To _Jinsol?_  

There’s just no way in hell she could let that happen.

Sooyoung looks back at her disheartening group of kids. They had not won a single game... not even the bean bag toss. One of them stands texting, another naps on the grass, another is picking their nose. The only remotely promising one was some tall kid named Chad. Her own daughter was also on the team, but Hyejoo had not made eye contact with her mother all day so far. Sooyoung had no idea how to talk to her, so she decided to take the easy route and just not. 

Not exactly the team dynamic of the year.

Interrupting her from her thoughts, she feels a tap on her shoulder from behind, and turns to see Jinsol with a smug look on her face. “The station’s all yours,” she sing-songs in a way that makes Sooyoung want to backhand her into the fifth dimension.

Instead, she assesses her schedule. The businesswoman does some quick math, and realizes that she can still get to finals if her team manages to win all the remaining games.

“Listen up, rats,” Sooyoung commands, and all the alarmed kids are looking back up at her, appalled. “New strategy. We’re winning the rest of the games.”

“Yeah, no we’re not.” A short-haired girl chuckles, not even looking up from her phone. 

Sooyoung narrows her eyes under her sunglasses, and slowly walks toward her. Hyejoo and the other kids, fear building inside all of them. “And what is your name, little girl?” Sooyoung asks in her honey-like tone. 

Jeongyeon’s heart stops beating as Sooyoung’s face is only inches away from hers, towering over her. “Jeongyeon,” she manages to say boldly. 

“What kind of a stupid fucking name is that?” Sooyoung asks the child lovingly with a smile.

“Jesus Christ,” Hyejoo says under her breath with wide eyes.

“It means loyal flower,” Jeongyeon snaps back, feeling brave for some reason.

Sooyoung slowly lifts her sunglasses and looks into Jeongyeon with piercing eyes. “Why don’t you be a loyal flower and show some team spirit before I mail you an animal carcass,” she says. Before Jeongyeon can answer, Sooyoung snatches the phone out of the eighth grader’s hand.

 _“HEY!_ You can’t do that!” Jeongyeon whines. 

“I can do whatever I want,” Sooyoung says smoothly, and looks over to the rest of her team, now cowering. “Everyone give me their phones!” The kids stand, motionless. _“NOW,”_ their new dictator nearly screams, and the kids scramble to do so. 

“The rules are simple!” Sooyoung continues, collecting expensive smartphones and carelessly clattering them into her bag. “Win Field Day, I give you your phones back. Don’t, and you get to watch me run over each and every one of them with my car and make an ASMR video out of it.”

Hyejoo didn’t know if her mother was really about to destroy the new $1,000 iPhone she just got her, but judging from the way she was talking to them, she didn’t want to test her to find out.

From the other end of the field, Seulgi leads her group over to their same station. Her kids are happily laughing, despite them not winning a single game either. Sooyoung sees Seulgi also got placed with her child, Yeri, and also recognizes one of the other little faces but she’s not sure from where…

“Oli!” The tiny blonde girl from the opposite team is waving enthusiastically towards Hyejoo, and Sooyoung thinks the child might break her arm from moving it so aggressively. The CEO looks over to her daughter, who is now smiling the biggest, sweetest smile she has ever seen on her. (Actually, she can’t really remember the last time she even saw her daughter smile.)

“Okay guys!” Ms. Chungha, the teacher manning the station speaks up. “The watermelon eating competition requires 3 players from each team!”

“Alright this is how it’s going to work you little freaks. Chad, you’re up. You with the overbite let’s have you go. And Sami? Sony? You’re the other one.” 

The girl whines. “It’s Somi… Don’t you want to learn our names?”

“Not really, no.” Sooyoung pulls each kid by their matching red shirts and sends them towards the table. Sooyoung looks over to the innocent, happy-go-lucky team and begins to diabolically laugh quietly to herself, completely missing the terrified look Hyejoo is giving her.

“Who’s that? I’ve never seen her before,” Chaewon asks, resting her head on Hyejoo’s shoulder as they sit together in the grass.

“That’s... my mom. My _other_ mom.” Hyejoo feels completely and utterly embarrassed. 

“Oh! She looks like you! She’s pretty.” 

Hyejoo blushes after realizing what Chaewon just said. Her heart trembles, but she tries to shoo the thought away. _She doesn’t mean it that way,_ Hyejoo reminds herself. 

The two girls perk up at the sound of terrified screams. At the other end of the field, three students are blasted roughly to the ground with rock hard balloons that don’t look made for water balloon fights. They seem to have been pelted from above: namely, the roof of the main office building. But when Hyejoo looks up to identify the culprit, there is no one there.

“Probably Yeojin,” Hyejoo says calmly.

“Yeah,” Chaewon agrees.

“Okay Team Banana, do we have any volunteers for this round?” Seulgi’s ears raise as she smiles at three little hands waving in the air. She sends them over to the table with Sooyoung’s stony team members.

“Okay kids, whichever team can eat the most watermelon without using your hands wins!” Ms. Chungha says, placing a plate of watermelon in front of each kid. 

The kids eyes go wide as they look at the plates in front of them and Ms. Chungha raises a little racing flag. 

“On your marks! Get set! GO!”

The kids start devouring their watermelon one by one with hands tied behind their back. Cheers from both sides are ecstatic and full of passion. Some, undoubtedly, are more passionate than others. 

“COME ON! IF YOU’RE NOT CHOKING YOU ARE DOING IT _WRONG!”_ Sooyoung screeches from the sidelines. “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SOMI, ARE YOU EVEN TRYING?” She yells directly at the little girl, who yelps and tries her best to eat faster.

Hyejoo covers her face in embarrassment.

Soon, nearly all the kids have given up. Only one child from Seulgi’s team and Chad remain. 

“EAT IT CHAD!” Sooyoung is yelling even louder than before, her voice cracking. 

Chad, from his seat at the table, struggles to take another bite, and tears start to well up in his eyes. He starts to wail out in pain into the watermelon as the child next to him continues chomping away.

Sooyoung gets up from the sidelines and angrily walks next to Chad, who is about to give up chewing and just rest his exhausted face on the cool watermelon. Sooyoung lowers herself right next to his ear.

 _“EAT IT!”_ She screeches, directly into his ear, and Chad starts to cry. 

But through his tears, he manages to continue out of fear, while the child next to him passes out onto the plate. Sooyoung jumps up and down with excitement.

 _“HA!_ IN YOUR FACE!” She points at Seulgi who looks at her in confusion. 

“What’s on my face? Oh God, I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that chocolate donut. Well, I’ll see you later!” Seulgi is about to leave when Hyejoo steps forward to stop her.

“Wait! Mrs. Kang! Umm... Can I be on your team?”

Sooyoung’s smile falters as the feeling of her heart sinking, as she looks down at her child. “What? Why?”

“Oh um. If that’s okay?” Hyejoo suddenly backtracks, flinching as her mom turns toward her. _“Please don’t hit me,”_ she whispers in a tiny, fearful voice and eyes squeezed shut.

“What?” Sooyoung asks, shock all over her face. She would never hit her daughter, and the fact that Hyejoo actually thinks that she would-

“What’s going on here?” Haseul says, appearing out of nowhere as if she materialized right next to them. “IS SOMEONE HAVING PROBLEMS AT HOME?” 

 _“No!”_ Hyejoo and Sooyoung both exclaim in unison. 

“Good, because they never told me what to do next,” Haseul says, exhaling gratefully.

Seulgi seeing the apparent dismay on Sooyoung’s face decides to say something. “Sweetie, I think the teams are numerically equal, it would mess up the order-”

“I’ll switch with you.” Yeri steps forward. “I can’t be on a team called Banana. Sorry mom, love you.” She hugs her mom before quickly switching places with Hyejoo. Hyejoo immediately runs towards the little blonde girl she had been waving at earlier.

“Well… okay, let’s go.” Seulgi begins to move her team, mouthing “Sorry” towards Sooyoung before she and her kids are out of sight. 

“Don’t worry Mrs. Ha, I’m ready to put in WORK.” Yeri says before doing one individual jumping jack.

Sooyoung sighs. “Alright. Well. Let’s go team. We’ve got a championship to win.”

***

Jinsol doesn’t know how the hell Sooyoung did it. 

She’d actually been getting along wonderfully with her team, and they had easily cruised through the stations undefeated. They had won their bracket quite easily, and with Yeojin’s masterful rhyme game (her words, not Jinsol’s) they’d even created a set of fun chants to shout for each other during matches. The best part of it was that Choerry has been giving her little to no attitude, as if she’s having too much fun to remember what a terrible parent Jinsol has been. 

However, when she sees who is competing for the spot against them, her jaw nearly detaches from her face and hits the ground.

Sooyoung Ha’s unorganized and ridiculously (she means _ridiculously)_ uncoordinated team has somehow scammed their way into the semi-finals. 

Luckily for Jinsol, their opponents would be nearly impossible to beat. Not that she enjoyed watching kids suffer... but she was definitely going to love watching Irene’s team demolish Sooyoung’s.

“Came to see your final competition?” Jinsol jumps from her thoughts, nearly falling from the gym bleachers.

She manages to stabilize herself and squints at the aromatic woman _(How does she smell so good with that much sweat?)_ standing near her, head tilted, arms crossed, and a smug smirk plastered on her face. Jinsol’s teeth grind.

“Yes, but I don’t think they’ve arrived yet.” Jinsol states, her arms crossing to mimic the woman in front of her. 

Sooyoung scoffs. “I’ll have you know my team is the best of the best. Top tier athletes and excellent teammates.” 

Jinsol looks behind Sooyoung. Several kids looked like they had just been hit by a train, and one of them is strangling another for a water bottle.

“Sure.” Jinsol remarks, trying to keep a laugh from escaping her throat. Sooyoung must’ve picked up on the sarcasm because she too turns to look at her team.

“Oh are you kidding me- ASSISTANT COACH!” Sooyoung screams, startling Jinsol. Immediately, Irene and Seulgi’s daughter appears out of nowhere wearing sunglasses and a whistle.

“Yes Coach Ha?” Yeri salutes the taller woman.

“Can you please stop Jeongyeon from killing Somi.”

“On it. HEY DUMBASSES,” Yeri blows her whistle and runs towards the debacle on the sand court.

“You were saying?” Jinsol smirks as Sooyoung glares in return. Sooyoung opens her mouth to speak, but is cut off by a chant coming from the entrance.

“LEFT! LEFT! LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT!” 

Irene is walking her bright pink colored team through the gates of the volleyball court. Correction: Irene is _marching_ her bright pink colored team through the gates of the volleyball court. No doubt about it, this team is here to win.

“HALT.” Irene asserts, voice more stern than usual. “Troops. Formation please.” 

As if being pulled by strings, all the kids move in unwavering synchronization to a predetermined position on the court or beeline to the bench. Irene walks over to Sooyoung and Jinsol.

“Hi Jinsol, glad you can watch this match.” Irene nods kindly towards her, and Jinsol does the same. 

Irene’s eye line moves to Sooyoung in obvious distaste and Jinsol swears she could see the taller woman tensing up. “Sooyoung.”

Irene offers a hand to Sooyoung, for the sole purpose of shaking it and wiping her hand on her pants afterward.

“May the best team win.” With that, Irene spins on her heel and heads toward the bench. 

“What she said.” Jinsol smiles, and receives a sarcastic one in return from Sooyoung before the brunette leaves to gather her kids.

“What was _that_ about?” Jinsol hears at her side, and looks to see Choerry suddenly at her side. “Are you going to fight Mrs. Ha or something?”

“What? No, of course not.” Jinsol assures, maybe a little too enthusiastically. She lets out a breath, not even realizing that her body had been tense from being in the presence of the devil incarnate.

“Oh. Okay. Because that would be _so_ bad.” Choerry has a look of relief on her face and Jinsol forces a smile onto her own, for her daughter. The mother looks out into the large gym, struggling to find the words for what to say.

“Choerry-”

Suddenly, a blur of a person sprints full force into the gym, catching both of their attentions.

“HEY GUYS.” Haseul was in the middle of the court now, breathing quite heavily and bending over to catch some air, bullhorn in one hand and a clipboard in another.

“I just participated in another one of my pranks. I don’t want anyone to catch me. I won’t tell you what it is but I promise it’s a _splash!”_ Haseul remarks, looking pretty proud of herself. 

When she’s finally able to breathe regularly again, Principal Haseul stands up straight, ready to referee. “Let’s get this bread!”

***

“ARE YOU SERIOUS JEONGYEON? ARE YOUR LEGS _BROKEN_ OR SOMETHING? TIMEOUT REF.”

Sooyoung is screaming loud enough to break the sound barrier, and honestly, she’s probably one octave away from popping a vein. But she doesn’t care. She _has_ to win this match, and these useless pre-teens are screwing it up. 

The two moms’ teams are on the third and final volleyball set. The score is now 25-24, with Irene’s team only needing one additional point above Sooyoung’s to win. Team Red had just lost a point, due to Jeongyeon missing a spike that the other team had violently slammed onto their side.

“Are timeouts even allowed?” Haseul flips through her pocket sized copy of _Volleyball For Dummies_. “You know what, I have to pee, so court is in recess.” Haseul climbs off the referee stand and wobbles toward the gym restrooms.

Irene mumbles something about working with idiots, while Sooyoung pulls Jeongyeon to the side, out of earshot from everyone else.

“What was that? You know you can move your feet in this game right? You have the brain capacity to understand that?”

Jeongyeon looks absolutely irate. “This game is _fucking STUPID._ I don’t want to play anymore. Especially not for you, you STUPID FUCKING DINOSAUR!”

Jeongyeon turns to walk away, but Sooyoung seizes her arm to turn her back around. Sooyoung lowers her voice to a hiss.

And boy, is she about to come down on Jeongyeon like the clap of God.

“What the fuck did you just fucking say about me? You little bitch? I'll have you know that I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals and I've been involved in _numerous_ secret raids, on Al-Qaeda. I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am _trained_ in guerilla warfare and I'm the top sniper in the _entire_ U.S. armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the _fuck_ out with precision the likes of which have never been seen before, on this earth. Mark my words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me? Think again fucker. As we speak, I'm contacting my secret network of spies across the USA and your address is being traced right now. So you better prepare for the storm maggot. The storm that wipes out the little thing that you call your life. You're fucking dead kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you over 700 ways, and that’s just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent you little shit. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little attitude was about to bring down upon you. Maybe you would have held your fucking tongue. But you couldn't! You didn't! And now you're paying the price. You goddamn idiot. I will shit fury all over you and you will drown in it. You’re fucking dead kiddo.”

None of what Sooyoung just said was actually accurate, but she thought if she delivered it all well enough, it would work out.

Jeongyeon looks at the mother, absolutely horrified. “I’m s-so sorry Mrs. Ha, I-I swear I will do whatever you want, please don’t k-kill my family.” Jeongyeon was shaking violently and starts sobbing into her hands. “P-please don’t-” she chokes on her gasps, “give me to the terrorists!” 

Sooyoung leans close to her covered face once again. “Now stop crying and go win this _FUCKING_ game!”  

Jeongyeon nods excessively, and sprints back to her position right as Haseul returns from the restroom. The referee climbs back onto her platform.

“Okay let’s continue! Pink team’s serve!” Haseul blows the whistle around her neck and the ball crosses the net. It bounces back and forth multiple times, each red team member going for the ball like their lives depend on it. (Most of them think it pretty much does.)

A boy on Irene’s team sends the ball flying slightly a little too far to the left, and Sooyoung is positive it was going out of bounds. 

“CHAD DO NOT TOUCH THAT BALL!” She screams from the sidelines, and Chad immediately backs off from the ball, only for it to hit the line. 

Haseul blows the whistle. “PINK TEAM’S POINT. That’s the game ladies-” 

“THAT WAS OUT!” Sooyoung interjects, lying in an attempt to get the point. 

“I, um, I thought if it lands on the line, it counts as in.” Haseul whispers down to Sooyoung.

“Yeah… B-But clearly it was out.” Sooyoung puts her hands on her hips from behind Haseul’s platform.

“This has got to be a joke.” Irene says, standing up on the other side of the net. “It was CLEARLY within the boundaries. Irene had already had it up to here with Haseul, especially since _every time_ any point was scored Haseul started banging a random tambourine like a maniac.

Sooyoung turns to look at her kids expectantly. Jeongyeon steps forward. “No it was out, I saw it.”

Yeri stood from the bench. “Yeah it was-” Irene quickly glares into Yeri’s eyes, nostrils flaring. “Actually you know what! My eyes were closed.”

“Mine were open and it was out!” Somi says convincingly from her position.

“Well if you all say it was out… I have to believe you,” Haseul states, her face completely serious, staring into a nonexistent camera in the distance. “Because I _always_ believe women.”

Silence.

“WE ARE BOTH _WOMEN!”_ Irene yells through clenched teeth, her fists balled so tight that her knuckles are turning white.

“She’s made up her mind!” Sooyoung shouts and Irene is about to stomp towards her but the kids on her bench run up and hold her back.

“Right! Sooyoung’s point! Let’s go! Gang gang!” Haseul blows the whistle.

25-25, Sooyoung needs two more points to secure the win. It’s Jeongyeon’s turn to serve, and she hits it over the net effortlessly. Sooyoung watches as they volley the ball back and forth once again. A tall kid on Irene’s team tries to spike it, but it’s blocked easily by Chad and sent to the floor on the opposite side.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME JOHNNY?” Irene flares from the sidelines.

“Point Sooyoung! Match point! Booyah!” Haseul blows the whistle once more.

Jeongyeon serves it again and the volleying begins once more. Back and forth it goes, until one of the kids sets up the ball on Irene’s end, and Johnny runs to spike it.

“JEONGYEON REMEMBER YOU HAVE FEET!” Sooyoung belts out from the sideline. 

Sure enough, Johnny spikes the ball, but Jeongyeon throws her leg out on the floor and saves it with her foot, sending it straight up into the air. 

Motivated by the inhuman noise that just came out of Sooyoung’s mouth, Somi runs towards the ball and jumps. She hits the ball perfectly, and it lands in between two pink players, both barely missing on a dive.

Haseul blows her whistle. “SOOYOUNG’S TEAM WINS!”

Sooyoung jumps up and down cheering, hugging Yeri as the rest of her team collapses on the squeaky tan floor. Irene kicks a chair very aggressively in Haseul’s direction, but barely misses her.

“Woah watch out there Beckham!” Haseul laughs and walks over to the bleachers were Jinsol’s team is sitting. 

Sooyoung looks over at the audience, who are all clapping except for one particular blonde. Her jaw is clenched, and she’s glaring in her direction. 

Sooyoung curtsies dramatically in return. 

_Bow down, bitch._

***

Jinsol cannot believe a single second of what she just witnessed. Sooyoung won the semi-final against Irene. IRENE. 

Maybe if Haseul wasn’t the ref it would’ve been different. No, not maybe. It definitely would have been different. But she couldn’t do anything about it now. Jinsol unclenched her teeth when she saw her daughter stand up from the bleachers. 

Choerry ran straight to the tall boy on Sooyoung’s team and pulled the sweaty boy into a hug. Jinsol thought it was just plain odd at first. Then her daughter kissed him, and Jinsol involuntarily gagged. 

“I know right, they’re disgusting.” Yeojin remarks from Jinsol’s side on the bleachers. “Plus Chad smells. Like literally he smells so bad, I wouldn’t stand within a 10 foot range without a mask. Your daughter is so brave.” She pats Jinsol on the shoulder, then walks over to Yeri.

Jinsol stands up from her place in the bleachers and walks over to Choerry and this boy. Immediately, she catches a whiff of strong body odor, and her throat burns. _Good God._

Chad sees Jinsol approaching, and panic spread instantaneously spreads throughout his face. “Um, I should go.” He says and quickly exits and walks towards the restroom, leaving Choerry without an explanation. However, when Choerry turns around and sees her mother, that’s all the explantation she needs.

“What do you want?” Choerry asks, irritated and arms crossing as Jinsol stops in front of her.

“Who was that?” Jinsol responds, raising an eyebrow.

“My boyfriend Chad. We’ve been dating for since seventh grade.” Choerry says, as if it were the most obvious statement in the world.

“And why didn’t I know about him?”

Choerry takes a long, exasperated sigh. “Maybe if you cared to talk to me before a week ago, you would’ve known!” Choerry states, the irritation in her voice being replaced with a hint of sadness. Before she can even respond, Choerry walks away to talk to anyone else.

Maybe this day wasn’t going as well as Jinsol had originally thought.

***

“What are you guys talking about?” Choerry asks appearing next to Yeojin and their other teammates outside by one of the trees that surrounds the gym.

“Okay first of all you just touched Chad, so you either need to be quarantined or take at least 3 steps back for safety measures.” Yeojin says, her hand up as if she just touched something gross.

Choerry just giggles. “Shut up.” She playfully hits Yeojin and Yeojin dramatically clutches her shoulder.

Then, suddenly, a giant round object blurs through the air and hits Yeojin in the back. She immediately falls to the ground, hard.

“Oh my God!” Her surrounding teammates look at her collapsed body on the dirt floor, and look to identify the source of the attack. 

“What the…” Choerry says, as she sees a rock-like red balloon rolling away from their feet, filled with water but unpopped. On the side is written HASEUL in big letters. “...What the heck is going on?”

Yeojin looks up from the floor, and sees her mother hiding poorly behind a tree giggling. Confused and frankly a little angry, Yeojin runs up behind her with the same unpopped balloon in hand, and launches it at her the second she comes close enough for a sure shot. 

Yeojin feels a little bad when twigs snap as her mom falls hard onto the ground. 

“Shit.” Yeojin runs over to her mom but can’t help but giggle just a little. 

“YEOJIN? WHY DID YOU JUST HIT ME WITH A BRICK?” Haseul shrieks, sitting up now holding her head. Her visor in no way protected her from the fall, and now she had a fairly large scrape on the top corner of her forehead.

“THAT WASN’T A BRICK. IT’S THOSE FREAKING BALLOONS YOU’VE BEEN PUMMELING PEOPLE WITH ALL DAY! Oh god you’re bleeding sorry.” Yeojin offers her mom a hand up and Haseul takes it.

“Honestly, watching you buy regular balloons instead of water balloons at the grocery store last night and seeing you fill them up until 2am was kind of hilarious, not gonna lie.” Yeojin dusts off her mother and hands her the fallen visor.

“Well I guess this is what they mean by _tough_ love huh?” Haseul looks at her daughter and Yeojin can’t believe her. This woman just got blasted full force into the ground and she is still making jokes. Yeojin can’t help but start laughing at her ridiculousness.

“Wait wait wait! I have another one! I perfected this one specifically for you.” Haseul says, clearing her throat. “The weatherman said it might get a bit drizzly outside. You can expect a _LIL’ WAYNE!”_

“Sure grandma, let’s get you to the tub okay, just a few more steps.” 

“Okay ha-ha. You know, I try to be fun-”

“I’m just kidding, that was good. Now go get a Band-Aid or something. Love you or whatever.” Yeojin quickly hugs her, warming Haseul’s heart, and the eighth grader jogs back to her friends.

***

Principal Haseul walks up the stairs of one of the school buildings with her one hand holding her white visor and the other pressed to her forehead. It’s a minor injury, really, but she can’t continue to wear her favorite visor without it being taken care of. 

She walks through the hall, and peers inside a familiar doorway.

Ms. Wong sits at her desk, straight red hair tucked behind her ear as she grades papers. Haseul slows and stops in her tracks, just to admire her beautiful coworker - looking concentrated yet completely serene.

The art teacher looks up at the little noise made at her door, and beams. “Haseul!” (After the aquarium, they’d been on first-name basis when the students weren’t around.)

Haseul, not wanting to be weird after being caught staring, says a casual “Hey!” before forcing herself to keep on moving. 

As she looks at the rest of the hallway though, she realizes she doesn’t even know where she’s going. 

The principal takes backward steps back to the opening of Ms. Wong’s classroom, and the teacher looks up again. “Um,” Haseul clears her throat. “Do you know where the ice packs are?” she asks with a dorky smile.

Vivi’s eyes move to Haseul clutching her forehead. “Yeah, I think I might have one in the back! I have things here just in case of an emergency.” She gestures for Haseul to come inside her classroom.

Although students fill the room every day, it feels strangely intimate to be in Vivi’s class. To Haseul, it almost feels like an extension of the other woman’s home, as elements of the teacher’s personality enliven the space. From the organized way she showcases unorganized art to the thin curtains that tint the room a sunset pink when the sun shines through, the room is hers through and through.

Just like if Haseul were in a museum, she basks at the individuality of each eighth grader’s art on the walls as she walks over to Vivi’s wooden desk. Behind it, she sees a special corkboard, with several drawings and paintings given to Ms. Wong as gifts from the students. Believe it or not, Haseul finds them all beautiful in their own unique ways.

“You really bring out the best in them,” The principal’s heart beats just a little faster as she says the words to the art teacher. 

Vivi, looking through the freezer of her mini-fridge, turns around. “You think so?” she asks, with a proud, optimistic smile. 

Haseul is lost in her shining eyes, and can only nod in response, not holding back the wonder from showing on her face. 

“I hope so,” Vivi says, humble as ever. She hands Haseul the ice pack.

“Thanks so much,” the principal says, and turns on her heel to walk away before she has the chance to mess this conversation up with catastrophic gay panic. 

“Wait. Haseul-” She stops on command. “Let me see,” Vivi says, walking closer to her.

Haseul’s heart begins to pound harder the closer Vivi gets, and she removes her hand from her forehead. Vivi’s eyebrows furrow in concern.

“Haseul, you’re bleeding…” She says, and Haseul melts at the pure concern in her voice. 

Vivi walks to a cabinet beside her desk, and looks for a first aid kid. She finds one, and takes out a Band-Aid. Haseul, not wanting to be of any trouble, says a thank you and that she’s got it, but struggles with putting a Band-Aid on a cut that she can’t even see. 

Vivi giggles. “Let me.”

Haseul stops breathing as Vivi tells her to sit, gesturing to the edge of a desk adjacent to hers. She dizzies at the sight of Vivi taking the ice pack from her hand and preparing to properly dress her wound, and Haseul prays to God she doesn’t faint and fall again.

She sees the teacher pour a mini bottle of hydrogen peroxide onto a cotton ball, and suddenly, Vivi is standing in between Haseul’s legs at the edge of the desk.

They’re only a few inches apart. Vivi smells like passionfruit and flowers.

“This might sting a little, okay?” Vivi asks in a tone even softer than her usual one as she looks up at Haseul, who is too far up in Cloud 9 to care at all. Before she can press the wet cotton to Haseul’s forehead, her fingers delicately dance on the other woman’s temple as she tucks fallen strands of Haseul’s short black hair behind her ear.

Vivi’s hands are soft, just like how they are when Haseul holds them in her dreams. And in their close proximity, Haseul realizes that in all her life, she’s never felt such a touch quite like freshly fallen snow, never felt anyone tend to her so gently.

Haseul is thankful for the pink-orange tint that coats the room as a result of Vivi’s wisping window curtains, as her face’s tomato red hue is muted by it. But in turn, she doesn’t get to see that Vivi is blushing just as hard.

Vivi comes closer between Haseul’s legs, pressing the wipe to her forehead, and Haseul winces. It barely even hurts, but of course, she can’t go five minutes without being dramatic. “Ah - sorry!” Vivi says, genuinely sounding guilty.

“I’m just messing with you,” Haseul giggles, and Vivi presses a little harder with a playful smile. “Ow!” 

They giggle as Vivi continues to patch Haseul up, and firmly pressing the Band-Aid to the cut. Haseul studies her like a creation she cannot fathom - the curve of her jaw, the way her lips part as she concentrates, her prominent cheekbones. Vivi spends so much time looking down at art that Haseul wonders if she knows she’s art herself.

When the other woman finally finishes, Vivi’s doe eyes meet hers.

The silence nearly consumes them as they stare meaningfully at each other, frozen in time. 

They’re used to lunch break smiles and corny jokes. Not lingering looks and being centimeters apart.

But their moment is harshly interrupted when “The Final Countdown” (the Pitch Perfect Hullabahoos version) suddenly blares from Haseul’s phone. Haseul curses profusely in her head, and looks down at it on the desk. “Ah, the final round is starting in five minutes, I gotta go,” she says, disappointed. Haseul has too much whiplash to look back into Vivi’s eyes. But when she looks up just for a second, she thinks she just may have seen the other’s disappointment too. She’s about to get up from the desk, until -

“Wait,” Vivi stops her, grabbing the white visor from the desk with a smile. “You can’t forget this,” she says endearingly, and positions the visor comfortably on Haseul’s head. Haseul is scrunching her face up with a cute smile as Vivi does. “There.”

Haseul stands to leave, and grabs her phone. She thanks her again and again, helps her put the first aid materials away, then walks to the doorway as Vivi sits back down at her desk. Vivi begins to flip through her papers again, and just before Haseul leaves, she turns her head to look back.

 _Just a little something for the road,_ Haseul muses, even though she knows deep in her heart that she’ll never really get enough. She struggles to bring herself to finally step out of the door.

Something comfortably unfamiliar pulls at Vivi’s heartstrings as well - but by the time Ms. Wong looks up from her rubrics to get one more look at her, Principal Haseul is already gone. 

***

“So like… do we have a team name?”

Sooyoung looks down at her assistant coach, Yeri, who has just tugged on her shirt a little to get her attention. They are on their way to the last station, and every red team member’s eyes widen, like Yeri just poked a beast with a stick. 

The CEO didn’t formally assign Yeri to be her assistant coach, but she found it efficient to have someone else with younger lungs screaming at the kids so she didn’t have to. Plus, Yeri’s spunk was kind of entertaining.

“Yes. We’ll be ‘The Winners’ after this game.” Sooyoung turns away, but Yeri tugs again. 

“What about… _Smooth Thunder._ ” Yeri winks and points finger guns in Sooyoung’s direction.

“That’s stupid.” Chad scoffs from the back of the group.

“No it’s not.” Yeri protests, a very stern voice coming out of a very small body. She looks exactly like her mother.

Sooyoung glares at Chad. “Well with the way you smell we should be called Garbage.” 

Some of the kids laugh. Jeongyeon lets out small bursts of forced giggles and Sooyoung worries that she possibly drove her to insanity. 

The short eighth grader tugs one more time. “Garbage... _Thunder._ ” Yeri is once again pointing finger guns.

“Sure,” Sooyoung says monotonously, sick of the feeling of her shirt being tugged and willing to compromise on this one. “If that will get us to the finish line.” 

Yeri fist pumps at her response as they approach the final round on the grassy field. 

A giant obstacle course is laid out horizontally so the crowd in the bleachers can see inside. Lively pop music is blaring from the speakers as they walk onto the football field, Sooyoung strutting in front with Yeri at her heel, the rest of the kids looking half-dead behind her. Sooyoung’s eyes roll so far back into her head when she sees that Jinsol is already there, stretching with her team.

“Unfuckingbelievable.” Sooyoung mumbles under her breath. She has to look at the audience, because the sight of Jinsol being so playful with her team makes her physically unwell.

She scans the crowd of students and sees all the colors of the other teams she faced throughout the day sitting on the bleachers. She finds Seulgi’s team sitting, excitedly waiting for the round to start, but finds no sign of Hyejoo or her little friend.

And once again, Sooyoung’s heart sinks at the absence of her child. Her brows furrow in confusion at the foreign emotion, but she quickly shakes her head to snap herself out of it. Regardless of Hyejoo being there or not, she _will_ be the winner of this competition. She _will_ beat Jinsol.

And maybe, just maybe, Hyejoo will admire her the way she used to.

“LIVE FROM NEW YORK, IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT-” Haseul screams loudly into her megaphone on a Tuesday afternoon in Southern California. Jinsol and her team are now standing next to Sooyoung’s, and the crowd hushes in confusion. “Um. Welcome to the final round of Field Day!” Haseul dabs stiffly, and holds it for at least four whole seconds.

Despite Haseul’s immense awkwardness, the crowd erupts into cheerful screams and celebration. 

“This year’s final round will be held between The Sharks,” Jinsol and her entire team clap their arms high above their heads once to form a fin. 

Sooyoung makes a facial expression like she just smelled rotten cheese.

“And the… Um… The...” Haseul looks over at Sooyoung who opens her mouth to speak before she’s cut off. 

“GARBAGE THUNDER!” Yeri yells.

Haseul smiles and turns back to the crowd. “Garbage Thunder!” 

The crowd claps, and Yeri waves at the crowd, acting like she’s on a red carpet.

“Garbage Thunder?” Jinsol snorts. “What kind of name is that?” She says low enough for only Sooyoung at her side to hear.

“At least it’s original. Unlike your stupid team.”

Jinsol turns to squint at her opponent square in the face. “Okay first of all, we picked this name because it symbolizes something. Sharks are fierce marine animals but are actually quite harmless, but they do what they need to do to survive.”

“Are you finished PETA?” Sooyoung retorts, cutting Jinsol off.

“Okay guys, listen up for the rules! This obstacle course is a relay race consisting of several different sections. First, the bouncy tunnel, then, under the inflatable bars. Then, squeezing through the stand up dummies. After that, you have to make it over the hurdles to get to the rock climbing wall. Once up the wall, proceed to the slide and come down and back around to tag the next person on your team. Don’t think about cheating, because Ms. Chungha is the ref! And last but not least, there’s a catch!” Haseul says excitedly and everyone looks at her with curiosity.

“The team leaders get to participate! They will be placed behind their last member to complete the race! Whichever team’s leader slides down to the ground first wins!” 

The crowd cheers and Jinsol looks at Sooyoung, who smirks at her confidently. Although Jinsol is ready to fight ‘til the death, Sooyoung is looking at her like she’s already won.

Instead, Jinsol turns to her team. “Hey everyone, listen up.” The Sharks immediately obey, and come closer towards her as she beckons them to huddle up. 

“We made it guys. We made it to the championship!” Her kids cheer enthusiastically. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. Get in, get out.”

“Like a B and E,” Yeojin says, self-assured.

“Um, well,” Jinsol doesn’t really know if their situation is analogous to breaking and entering. “Sure. Exactly.” She continues. “So we’re gonna do our thing, and we’re gonna win this! But even in the extremely unlikely scenario that we don’t... I just want to let each and every one of you know,” Jinsol says, making eye contact with all of her eighth graders. “That I’m really proud of you.” She meets Choerry’s eyes. Even though she may not be on the best terms with her mom right now, Choerry can’t help but smile at her, and Jinsol smiles back endearingly. 

Meanwhile, a few feet away, Sooyoung attempts to hype up her team. “Okay guys, you know the drill. Let’s break on three. One, two, three,” 

“WIN OR DIE!” The red-clad kids gutturally yell in unison.

Once the teams are lined up and ready to go, Haseul steps in front of them with a small flag.

“ON YOUR MARKS! GET SET! _GO!”_

***

There was no way this race should be this close.

Statistically, Jinsol’s team is vastly better when it came to teamwork, confidence, and composite athleticism. But Sooyoung was yelling like a maniac, and it made her kids act like a colossal spider was running after them. (I mean, seriously. Jinsol didn’t even know kids could run that fast.)

Choerry, the only kid left in front of Jinsol just got tagged to go. A few seconds later, that _Chad_ boy gets tagged on the opposite team. Jinsol thinks some cheering should help motivate her daughter.

“WHO ARE WE?” Jinsol shouts.

“OCEAN ROYALTY!” The rest of her team responds with energetic, youthful energy.

“PLEASE KILL ME!” 

Jinsol looked over to Sooyoung who just shouted that in response, rhyming with their chant.

“Real mature!” Jinsol says.

“I don’t know, it was kinda funny Dr. Kim. Mrs. Ha got bars.” Yeojin said, untying her hair and laying on the grass, being out of breath from having just ran through the course.

Jinsol sighs and continues focusing on the inflatable contraption of the private school’s Field Day in front of her. After a while, she sees her daughter sliding down and sprinting around the corner as the song “FUN!” by fromis_9 begins over the speakers. Her team starts screaming louder - but suddenly, the other team is doing so as well. Sure enough, Chad is sprinting down the side of the course at full speed, practically neck and neck with his girlfriend.

“GO MOM GO!” Choerry exclaims as she tags her mother and Jinsol takes off, Sooyoung soon following close behind.

Jinsol’s throat burns with how heavy she’s breathing, but she quickly cruises through the tunnel and was now finishing under the bars. She sees Sooyoung in the corner of her eye just barely making it out of the tunnel.

Jinsol was squeezing through the inflatable dummies when she heard Sooyoung struggling behind her. 

_So much for those workout quotes huh?_

Jinsol gets through the hurdles easily and is over halfway up the rock wall when Sooyoung starts climbing.

Despite the sweat dripping down her forehead, Jinsol is excited. I mean, she _is_ moments away from besting the woman who’s had it out for her for ten years. Pizza party aside, the look on Sooyoung’s face when she wins is about to be the biggest prize of them all.

Jinsol can’t be more than two steps away from the top when Sooyoung says it.

“This rock piece I’m holding onto… It kind of looks like that birthmark Jungeun has on her inner thigh, right?” 

Slowly, then all at once, the joyful music muffles in Jinsol’s ringing ears as her heart plummets directly into her stomach. She can suddenly feel how much oxygen is being deprived from her body. 

And in its place - anger. Sheer, overflowing anger.

 _“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY?”_ Jinsol growls as she turns to look down at Sooyoung, but at a cost. She loses her footing. Jinsol’s foot slips, and panic overcomes her as she falls all the way to the bottom. 

Her entire body slams onto the mattress below her.

From Jinsol’s team to Sooyoung’s, from the faculty and volunteers to every student in the audience - no one can believe their eyes.

Jinsol looks up from her haze to see Sooyoung reach the top of the rock climbing wall. As she watches Sooyoung disappear down the slide, Jinsol’s face burns red with rage. 

Jinsol has no choice but to climb back up the wall, and she goes down the slide in complete silence. She sees her and Sooyoung’s astonished teams behind the finish line. Haseul is in front of them holding a plastic medal as Sooyoung stands next to her. She looks straight at Jinsol, with a hand on her hip, and tilting her head, giving the other mom the most smug look she has _ever_ seen plastered on her face.

“Well there is a clear winner here!” Haseul reaches for Sooyoung’s hand to throw up as the victor.

And at the sight, Jinsol comes undone. 

The way Sooyoung has treated her all day. Hell, the way Sooyoung’s been treating her for the past _month_. Sure, she hasn’t been a saint to her either. But she had good reason.

And she was reminded by Sooyoung herself _exactly_ what that reason was.

“The winner of Field Day is-”

Haseul doesn’t even finish her sentence before Jinsol punches Sooyoung in the nose.

***

Hyejoo packs her backpack at her locker next to Chaewon.

The raven-haired eighth grader had honestly a great time playing on Team Banana throughout the day, especially since Chaewon was by her side the entire time. 

She was planning on spectating at the final round, until she found out who was competing in it. Hyejoo didn’t really want to witness her mother being a psycho in front of the whole school, so she and Chaewon just skipped it to eat some leftover snacks in the empty gym. 

Now it was almost time for school to be out, so they both figured they would pack up early before the varsity sports team rush comes flooding in. To their surprise though, it was 3:00pm, and not a single person had come inside yet.

“That’s a bit weird right?” Hyejoo asks Chaewon after mentioning it, but all Chaewon does is shrug.

Chaewon’s phone pings and she examines the screen. Hyejoo peeks over to look too. 

**_@tupacs_daughter started a live video. Watch it before it ends!_ **

“Why is Yeojin going live?” Hyejoo questions.

“She probably has her clown outfit on like she always does. What’s new.” Both girls laugh. Chaewon taps on the notification anyway.

“ _HASHTAG MILF SMACKDOWN. THESE HOT MOMS ARE GOING CRAZY! OH SHIT!”_ Yeojin screams from Chaewon’s screen. Yeojin flips the front camera, and Hyejoo can make out a blonde woman in blue flinging her arms aggressively at a tall brunette woman who can barely hold her off, and she’s wearing-

“Oh my god,” Hyejoo says, seeing the bright red shirt. “That’s my fucking mom.”

***

Choerry just wants to cry watching her mom pummel Hyejoo’s mom into the ground while the entire student body comes out to scream and record the fight. 

Honestly, the only reason she wasn’t crying was because she was scared the information might get to Nayeon, who would ruthlessly make fun of her for crying. Nayeon wasn’t even there, she had faked sick because ‘Field Day is for losers.’

Nevertheless, Choerry refuses to let herself cry. Presidents don’t cry in front of their people - but that’s really hard to remember as she watches her mother sock the other woman in the face again and again.

Choerry sees Hyejoo and Chaewon rush out of the school doors and onto the football field. Hyejoo looks absolutely mortified. Choerry doesn’t blame her.

“Ladies. Hahaha... ladies, uhhh please stop.” Principal Haseul was saying calmly into her megaphone at the women destroying each other on the grass, clearly wanting to stop it but not at the expense of getting herself physically involved. 

“Haha okay um… Let’s stop now… The children are watching… Like the whole school is here,” Haseul says nervously, and indeed, the entire student body of St. Jihyo’s Presidential Academy was now outside and crowded around the smackdown.

Apparently, that didn’t matter to Jinsol Kim and Sooyoung Ha. The latter had regained her form and decked Jinsol in the face from under her, switching their position and pulling at Jinsol’s hair to hold her down as she punches her over and over again in the gut. Jinsol is able to throw her off and get up on two feet. The blonde grabs Sooyoung by her long ponytail only to slam her entire body onto the hard slide.

“Guys come on... The slide is a rental.” Haseul said weakly again, her words not making any sort of impact at all.

“Can _someone_ please stop them?” Hyejoo yells from the bottom of the bleachers.

“Um.” Haseul says through the megaphone right as Sooyoung gets another punch in, hitting Jinsol square in the jaw. 

“THIS HAS TO BE A JOKE.” 

Heads turn to see Irene, in slippers and pajamas, walking angrily towards the brawling mothers. 

“Oh thank God. We have a situation.” Haseul says, still speaking into the megaphone. “Where were you Renie?”

“She was taking a stress nap,” Seulgi says, standing to prevent her wife from entering the fight. “She, um. Has a hard time when she loses.” Seulgi whispers that last part.

Seulgi looks back at her wife, anger practically steaming out of her head. “Ahh! Don’t worry honey! I got this, you just sit.”

Choerry cringes watching Mrs. Kang try to get between her mom and Mrs. Ha. 

“Hey guys um, you should probably like stop-” 

Sooyoung grabs Jinsol by the shoulders and pushes her with all her strength back to the ground, lightly bumping Seulgi in the process. 

“THAT IS _IT!_ I’VE _HAD IT!”_ Irene shrieks suddenly, louder than Principal Haseul’s megaphone can even go. Every child in the audience goes dead silent.

At the sound of the PTA President’s voice, the two mothers immediately cease their actions. Irene makes sure that her wife is okay, then looks over at the disheveled, bruised and breathless women on the floor.

“PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE. NOW!” Irene screams at them both. “AND BRING YOUR KIDS TOO!”

***

“What in the world was _that?”_ Irene hisses from Principal Haseul’s chair. 

Haseul is pacing back and forth behind her. Sooyoung and Jinsol were sitting absolutely unkempt in the chairs opposite of them, their kids seen from the window waiting outside in the hallway.

“Yeah, what in the world was that?” Haseul says from behind her, attempting to match Irene’s tone.

“You are acting like children.” Irene bites.

“CHILDREN!” Haseul repeats.

Sooyoung takes a deep breath. “Well, don’t children get three strikes?”

Irene abruptly slams a clenched fist on the table. “I DON’T GIVE A _FUCK_ ABOUT THREE STRIKES. YOU’RE GROWN ASS ADULTS. THE ENTIRE SCHOOL WATCHED YOU TWO FIGHT LIKE CHILDREN. IF YOU EVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN I WILL BAN YOU FROM _EVER_ SETTING FOOT IN THIS _FUCKING_ SCHOOL _EVER_ _AGAIN.”_

“Wh-” Jinsol begins to say.

“THAT’S STRIKE TWO!” Haseul asserts confidently from behind Irene.

“You two need to be held responsible for your actions.” Irene says, calming down and pulling out her phone.

Jinsol speaks this time. “No offense… but what are _you_ going to do? Call our moms?”

Irene stands from the chair. “No,” she says easily. She walks around to sit on the edge of the desk, and looks down at them with a smile and narrowed eyes. “I’m calling your wives.”

Both of the CEOs’ eyes widen in horror.

“Please, no...” Sooyoung begs as Jinsol buries her face in her hands. “Please _do not_ call my wife I have a car I can just leave-”

 _“OH WE’RE CALLING YOUR WIVES!”_ Haseul exclaims loudly from behind the desk. She can finally get back to her comfy chair now that Irene isn’t sitting in it. 

“Haseul, please…” Irene’s smile fades as she brings her fingers up to rub at her temples. “Just let me handle this… OH WE’RE CALLING YOUR _WIVES._ ” Irene shouts, “And you’re not going anywhere until they sign you out.” Irene is going through her contacts, flips her phone around, and taps on a name Sooyoung can see all too clearly. 

**Jiwoo Ha**

“Irene... please…” Sooyoung begs weakly, and Jinsol is a bit alarmed from behind her hands. She doesn’t know how anyone could possibly be scared of Jiwoo of all people, but the blonde guesses she’s about to find out. “She can’t sign me out… she’s in… East... Dakota, she’s asleep right now,” she lies. “IRENE PLEASE-”

Irene holds up a finger and glares at Sooyoung while putting the phone up to her ear. After a few seconds Sooyoung can hear her bubbly wife answer on the other end.

“Hi Irene!” Sooyoung looks like she’s about to cry at the sound of Jiwoo’s happy, lovable voice, ready to be let down. “How did Field Day go today? Sooyoungie did well in my place I assume?”

“Hi Jiwoo! Sorry to bother you. Um, actually…” Irene shifts her tone and Sooyoung is forced to just sit and cringe as Irene explains the entirety of her actions to her wife, all up to the point where she begged Irene not to call her. 

There is a long silence after Irene finishes. Irene shoots a pointed look to a terrified Sooyoung as the taller woman squeezes her eyes shut in shame. “I see.” Jiwoo says cooly on the other end.

“I suppose I can let her go after the call ends, since you’re out of town.” Irene says into the phone.

“No,” Jiwoo says leisurely. “Keep Sooyoung there another hour.”

 _“What?”_ Sooyoung says, panicking in her seat.

“You heard her.” Irene says. 

“BABY?” Sooyoung desperately cries out.

“THAT’S STRIKE THREE!” Haseul exclaims back.

 _“Shut-”_ Irene looks at Haseul with narrowed eyes, and sighs. “Thanks Jiwoo. Again, so sorry I had to bother you.”

“Oh no problem Irene. I’m just so sorry she had to ruin the day,” Jiwoo says in a tone of pure disappointment that twists Sooyoung’s insides.

She ends the call. “And now, for you.” She looks at Jinsol and taps **Jungeun Kim**. But Jinsol can’t see because her hands are still covering her face.

Jinsol actually hides her face the entire time the PTA president is on the phone with her wife.

***

Sooyoung is allowed to sit with Hyejoo in the cold hallway until the babysitter arrives. 

Of course, not without Irene’s intense supervision.

“I’m not going to do anything, warden,” She snaps at Irene who’s standing a few inches away from Sooyoung. She doesn’t respond, and is acting like a maximum security prison guard.

Jinsol and her daughter were back inside the office. Haseul didn’t think the moms should be in the same room and, for once, Irene agreed with her.

Sooyoung, reflecting on her actions like one does when detained, had no idea why she said what she did during the obstacle course. In all honesty, she maybe felt a teensy bit bad about saying it. But if she hadn’t, she would have lost. And she hadn’t nearly busted a lung and popped a vein just to let it go to waste.

But _fuck,_ could that bitch throw a punch.

She looks under the ice pack over her eye at her daughter sitting next to her, who also refuses to interact with her.

“Um.” Sooyoung clears her throat. She feels compelled to say something, although she’s not quite sure what that thing is. (Or, she does, but she’s just too proud to say it.) “At least… at least you get to go home before me?” Sooyoung says softly.

As if on cue, Hyunjin the babysitter bursts through the school doors. “OLIVIAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! LET’S GO GIRLIE GIIIIIRL!” She yells, energetic as ever.

“I fucking hate you.” 

Hyejoo gets up to walk out of the school doors with Hyunjin trailing behind her. 

Sooyoung tries her best to convince herself that her bruised body was the cause of the tears welling up in her eyes.

But all Sooyoung can think about is how her daughter said those words looking not at Hyunjin at all. Her child was looking at her.

***

It’s about 5PM when Jungeun finally arrives from work to sign Jinsol out. When the blonde CEO and her daughter get the call from inside the principal’s office, they’re told Jungeun is waiting for them outside. 

Jinsol has had a pretty counterproductive day as is. All she wanted was a day devoted to bonding with her daughter, but all she did was surely make everything worse. And to top it all off, she had plenty of bruises forming and most likely two black eyes on the way. But she’s happy to finally see her wife.

Choerry walks far in front of her mother to the school building’s doors. She hadn’t even looked Jinsol in the eye, let alone said a single word to her mother since her fight with Sooyoung on the field.

Afternoon sunlight warms Jinsol’s skin as she exits the air-conditioned school building behind Choerry. Jinsol watches her daughter sprint into her other mother’s arms.

Choerry wraps Jungeun in a hug; Jungeun is tired, but leans down a little to return her daughter’s embrace. “I missed you so much mommy,” Choerry says into the crook of her neck, muffled.

“Hey… I missed you too,” Jungeun says softly, then crinkles her nose. “You stink.” She pulls away to look at Choerry. “I need you to go home with mom now, okay?”

 _“No,”_ Choerry pleads a bit quietly, but Jinsol hears, the intense refusal feeling a million times worse than Sooyoung’s punches to the gut. “I… I don’t want-”

“I have to work baby, I’m sorry,” Jungeun says sympathetically.

“Can I come with you? Please?” Choerry begs.

“No, no Choerry I’m gonna be late. Just get in the car.” Jungeun insists.

Choerry takes a dramatic sigh and slowly turns back around to face Jinsol with an unhappy expression. 

Jinsol doesn’t really know what to say. So, she just fishes her car keys out of her purse and hands them to Choerry. Her daughter walks towards the Tesla to go ahead and wait for her mother inside.

Jinsol manages to look up from the floor to her wife. “So… you’re going to be late…?” Jinsol asks, nervously. 

Jungeun says nothing. Jinsol looks back at the ground, afraid and ashamed.

“I had to leave a presentation with the CEO to come get you.” Jungeun says bitterly.

Jinsol is struck with another overwhelming wave of guilt. “Jungeun…” Jungeun just looks at her, irritated and exhausted. “I’m sorry.” 

Only silence follows. 

“I’ll... see you at home, then?”

“Probably not.” Jungeun answers, so distant that her eyes look disconnected from her face. “We rescheduled for 8pm. I have to stay late now.”

Before Jinsol can think of something to say, Jungeun is walking back to the driver’s side of her BMW. Jinsol raises her hand to stop her, to find something, _anything_ to say _,_ but what could she? 

And before Jinsol knows it, Jungeun is backing out of the parking spot, and driving away.

With a heavy heart, Jinsol goes back to get into her car, Choerry already comfortable in the backseat with her airpods in. 

Jinsol looks to the rear view mirror and sees that Choerry is looking straight out the window to completely prevent any sort of communication with her mother. But for the first time that day, Jinsol doesn’t mind. 

Choerry won’t have to see her cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. That was long, wasn’t it? But hopefully you all enjoyed it?  
> Really curious, who are your guys’ favorite characters? Tell us and your favorite parts below!  
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> p.s. heres my curious cat if u wanna ask questions curiouscat.me/ultyoojung


	7. Haunted Housing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> None of you matter to me except the people who livetweet the chapters and leave long comments JK everyone who supports our fic has a special place in my heart <3 but livetweeting readers and detailed commenters i’d really fr take a bullet for you just give me a time and place - Cat
> 
> god we get it cat u want the readers to hype us up… turn it down a bit you’re ruining my image. -daniela  
> p.s. stream icy and only by irene <3  
> p.p.s. CAT IS LITERALLY SPELL CHECKING MY NOTES. THIS IS SICK.

Three weeks have passed since what the St. Jihyo’s student body and 115 million viewers refer to as the “Milf Smackdown.”

Yeojin took the liberty of posting her recording of the brawling mothers on every streaming platform imaginable - YouTube, WorldStar Hip Hop, Soundcloud as an audio file, Pornhub, and the list goes on. “Milf Smackdown” became an international household name within five days. 

Fortunately enough for Dr. Jinsol Kim and Sooyoung Ha, the fight footage was captured at far too great a distance to clearly make out their identities. However, the CEO of Yves St. Laurent ruthlessly hounded her PR team to have the video expunged from the internet at all costs. Yeojin, under the elusive faceless profile “Lil Peni$”, received plentiful authoritative emails from officials angrily threatening a multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit - all of which the midget-like eighth grader cackled at and ignored.

At work, Sooyoung was hellbent on finding, suing, and killing Lil Peni$. At home, she was experiencing the silent treatment - from both her daughter and her wife. Hyejoo acted like her mother was completely dead to her, for obvious reasons. Jiwoo, on the other hand, was out filming for the two weeks after the incident, and didn’t bother to call her wife at all for the first one. 

And when the celebrity wife finally arrived back home, she reduced their physical contact to none. But every morning, Jiwoo still continued her routine of leaving a packed lunch with a heart-signed note for her wife, which was enough to put the CEO at ease. Sooyoung figured she can just wait this one out. After all, she knows Jiwoo can’t resist her forever.

Jiwoo herself has currently just arrived home from work on this year’s warm Halloween afternoon. Following faint, familiar hums of old Korean jazz, she climbs one of their long black staircases to the roof.

And on their house’s crown sits Sooyoung, in the dry, elevated center of their infinity pool. 

The Ha’s roof itself is uniquely unconventional. Polished circular stones of smooth obsidian rise from the water as a walking path to the gathering area in the center of the water. There, two thin seating cushions opposite each other can host about five on each side, united by a small table in the middle that Sooyoung is currently using for a steamed giant dungeness crab. The CEO stares out introspectively to her postcard view of Los Angeles as the sun shines above her. 

“Welcome home my queen!” Sooyoung sing-songs with a proud smile upon seeing Jiwoo lift her dress to cross the water on the polished stones. 

Jiwoo just rolls her eyes. Sooyoung has been trying to get on her good side again for weeks. On the other hand, Jiwoo over the course of those weeks has been trying to initiate a serious talk with her wife about her parenting, but Sooyoung has been too busy for a sit down.

But now, here she is, home early and unoccupied. 

The CEO opens her arms wide, with a big kiss-up smile for her wife, who now stands in front of her. “No,” Jiwoo rejects, and walks to the edge of the platform where Sooyoung’s $8,000 vintage record player sits. (Well, formerly $8,000, before she got it painted in liquid gold.) She lifts the needle to pause her wife’s old Korean record. “I need to talk to you.” 

Sooyoung tuts and grumbles an “Ughhh.”

“Okay!” Jiwoo answers passive-aggressively. “I’ll just go-” 

“No! Noooo, don’t go,” Sooyoung pouts, and reaches to wrap her arms around Jiwoo and gently pull her into her lap. “I want you here...” she corrects, “I just don’t want to talk…” Sooyoung slowly leans in closer to give her beloved a much-missed kiss. 

Before Sooyoung can connect their lips though, her eyes shoot open at the sensation of Jiwoo stuffing a lobster biscuit into her mouth. The taller woman yelps into the bread, while her wife doesn’t look like she regrets doing it at all.

 _“Jiwurr!”_ she cries out, muffled, and she pauses to take the biscuit out of her mouth. “You know I don’t eat carbs.” 

Jiwoo narrows her eyes. “Why was that on your plate then…?”

“It came with the meal.” Sooyoung responds grimly, referring to the assortment prepared by one of their private chefs available anytime upon request.

Jiwoo doesn’t look amused.

“When are you gonna stop being mad at me?” Sooyoung pouts, and wraps her arms affectionately around her wife in her lap, as if all of Jiwoo’s resistance is a colossal overreaction.

“Sooyoung. You destroyed another mother in front of hundreds of children. You beat up _Jinsol_ , our friend, of all people.”

“Mmm, she’s not my friend,” Sooyoung interjects, like a petty teenager. “And you’re right, I did destroy her didn’t I?” 

_“Sooyoung.”_

“Okay, okay. But I’ve got an army working to get the video taken down. It’ll be gone in no time,” the CEO says with her casual airy voice.

“That’s not the point.” Jiwoo responds firmly. She reaches to take Sooyoung’s arms and remove them from her waist, but stays in her lap. “Our daughter watched you turn into some barbarian in front of her entire school, and now the world. Do you know how humiliating that must be for her? All because you’re so immature?” 

Jiwoo doesn’t wait for a response. She reaches for Sooyoung’s phone on the glass table, unlocks it, and opens the YouTube app. She taps the Trending section, and shows the screen to her wife. 

**#1: Milf Smackdown (uploaded by Lil Peni$)**

**#2: ASMR Dentist RolePlay Emergency Cleaning Teeth in Public (uploaded by Chuu)**

_“First_ of all,” Jiwoo starts quite aggressively. “You’re blocking me from my rightful place at the top.”

“Please princess, if anyone can top you it’s me,” Sooyoung smirks, shamelessly looking directly into her wife’s eyes. 

Jiwoo ignores the ignited flame between her legs and continues with an irritated huff. “ _SECONDLY,”_ she says, perhaps a little too high-pitched. 

“Ugh, I love crab,” Sooyoung blurts randomly, and grabs the giant cooked crustacean by its sides and harshly bangs it on the table’s edge to break its gleaming red shell. 

(How hypocritical it is that Sooyoung ridicules Jinsol for having a little pasta sauce on her face, yet the elegant goddess herself eats like a primitive ape-human when no one else is around.)

“Why.” Jiwoo breathes in disbelief, lightly shaking her head. “There is a hammer. Right in front of you.”

“I am stronger than any hammer, ever.” Her wife hums, ripping apart the giant shell roughly, letting the savory aromas spill into the air. 

“That’s hot.” Jiwoo mutters under her breath.

“What?”

“I said _secondly._ Have you even apologized to our daughter since you decided to become a YouTube sensation too?” 

The silence is telling enough for the celebrity, who breaks away in disappointment and begins to get up and leave. “Jiwoo, Jiwoo,” Sooyoung pleads, reaching to take her hand. 

“You are so difficult.” Jiwoo snaps, and yanks her hand away.  

“No need to get… crabby! Haha,” Sooyoung jokes, pointing both her wet index fingers at her wife who glares at her with an absolutely irritated straight face. Sooyoung pouts at the lack of response.

“That joke would be funny if you got the animal right.” Jiwoo retorts.

Sooyoung looks up at Jiwoo, absolutely puzzled. “What… What do you think that is- Okay anyway…” She sighs. “Tell me what I can do.” She responds in a soft, honeyed voice. 

Really though, Jiwoo is exacerbated by the fact that all Sooyoung wants to do is make her pleased again instead of be a better parent. 

“It’s Halloween,” the celebrity says dryly. “You can start by taking your child trick-or-treating. It’s been a hot minute since you’ve done that.” 

“Sweetheart…” Sooyoung through her loud chewing of crab meat, looking out into the distance. “I still don’t know what’s the big deal. My parents never took me trick-or-treating, and I turned out fine!” She says matter-of-factly, electing to ignore the conglomerate of diverse childhood traumas that will forever manifest in her mind.

“You _hate_ your parents.” Jiwoo says, for every terrible reason that they both know, but choose to leave unspoken. “...So why do you insist on treating our daughter the same way they treated you?”

_Ouch._

Now _that_ one hurt.

Sooyoung stops eating to clench her jaw in silence, refusing to look her wife in the eye. Jiwoo observes the change in demeanor, and feels her heart pang with guilt knowing she’s rubbed salt in her wife’s most sensitive wound. Maybe that accusation was far too heavy.

Jiwoo slowly tucks her dress behind her legs and sits next to her wife, who doesn’t push her away. 

“You can try harder with her.” Jiwoo whispers, resting a hand on her shoulder. “You’re better than them, Sooyoungie.” A light squeeze, as Jiwoo thinks about the enormous heart surely inside the woman she married. “I know you are.” And she means it.

Sooyoung says nothing, her expression unreadable. Jiwoo looks to her patiently. After a few moments, Sooyoung closes her eyes, and raises a fishy wet hand to rest on her wife’s. 

The moment is interrupted by the sound of increasingly loud footsteps coming up the stairs. Hyejoo peeks her head out onto the watery roof to look over at her moms.

“Hi sweetie!” Jiwoo greets, simultaneously giving her wife’s shoulder another two squeezes. 

“Hey mom,” the pre-teen responds in her usual indifferent tone of voice. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sorry sweetie, I feel a mad poop coming on right now,” Jiwoo lies, and begins to walk out of the central gathering area to re-enter their house. She doesn’t actually need to use the bathroom at all, but she’s going to leave this one to her wife.

“But- wait…” Hyejoo pouts, then looks back at her other mother in her pretentious crab bib like she’s chopped liver. Like hell does she want to have any conversation with her after Field Day. “Um.”

“Yes…” The CEO hesitates. _“Sweetie,”_ she hoarses out, so awkwardly that they both cringe in disgust.

“I know this is last minute but can I go haunted housing tonight?”

“What is that? Trick-or-treating?”

“No. Trick-or-treating is for babies.” Hyejoo says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, as she walks across the water to get closer to her mother. “My friends and I want to go together to some haunted houses that are open tonight.”

“Okay,” Sooyoung agrees, despite not fully understanding what it is her daughter is trying to participate in. “I’ll drive you.”

“Wow, decided to be a good mom for Halloween?” Hyejoo retorts venomously without skipping a beat.

“TCH- _Listen,”_ Sooyoung growls. “Let me drive you,” she says, softer. Hyejoo looks at her like that’s the last thing she’d ever want. 

A pregnant pause, as the two look at each other, distant across the water. “It’s the least I can do.” Sooyoung adds quietly. 

It’s probably the closest thing that her prideful maniac of a mother will get to an apology, Hyejoo thinks to herself, and maybe just with a ten-millionth of her being she appreciates the sentiment. But still, she’d rather not have the star of Milf Smackdown around her classmates ever again. 

“No, no, it’s okay. Um. I just needed the permission. We... already have… a driver.” Hyejoo lies. She came up there hoping her other mother could drive them. Her friends always loved being around the celebrity, and she was very fun with them, too. Last time, Jiwoo did violent donuts with her car in a Costco parking lot, and then let Yeojin drive.

“Mrs… Mrs. Ummm…” Hyejoo racks her brain for any name, but is suddenly blanking out. So she goes with the first one that comes up in her head. “Mrs. Kim.” Hyejoo fights the urge to facepalm at her mistake. Choerry wasn’t even invited to be coming with them in the first place.

Adrenaline shoots through Sooyoung’s body at her daughter’s mention of Jinsol. _“Excuse me?!”_  

“THE OTHER ONE.” Hyejoo barks. “Auntie Jungeun! Jungeun Kim.”

“JUNGEUN?” They both around to identify the source of Jiwoo’s abrupt outburst. Didn’t she just leave? Wasn’t she supposed to be inside the house by now? Her voice was coming from the outdoor staircase.

Slowly, Jiwoo reappears in sight, climbing back up the staircase. “I love Jungeun.” she says full of emotion, with a hand to her heart like it’s the Pledge of Allegiance. And then, without another word, the celebrity turns back around and leaves again.

“Umm, okay-” Sooyoung nods trustingly at the plan. “Okay. As long as it’s not the other one,” she says the last three words full of distaste.

“Thanks.” Hyejoo says awkwardly, and turns to leave. 

“Wait-”

Hyejoo stops to turn back to her CEO mother. 

There’s a million things and more that Sooyoung could use this moment to say. She opens her mouth for the words. But looking into her daughter’s eyes, it’s just too hard. 

“If you… If you need anything else, just ask me.”

“Okay…” The eighth grader says at the unfamiliar offer.

“And be safe.” 

Hyejoo nods. “Okay.” And then, she’s bounding down the stairs back into their house, leaving Sooyoung to her crab. 

The CEO takes a deep breath, and leans back over to resume the playing of her record.

***

“OLIVIA? HI!” 

Hyejoo winces as the strident voice of her art partner blasts in her ear from her phone speaker. “Choerry… Hey.” The raven-haired child pinches the bridge of her nose in stress. Somehow, she has to convince Choerry to take her and her friends out haunted housing later tonight. Under any other set of circumstances, she wouldn’t be this desperate. But it was either this, or another weird escort with Principal Haseul where she tries to act like she was their friend.

Hyejoo was ready to get on her knees.

“I know it’s random but… Do you um, have… Plans tonight already?” The eighth grader asks the girl, biting her nails. 

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” It’s about the longest ‘uh’ Hyejoo has ever heard. “I was planning to go to Nayeon’s tonight for her Halloween party, why?” Choerry asks. Hyejoo already feels her hopes plummet.

“Oh um. We were just going to go haunted housing tonight in our costumes and…” Hyejoo winces. She hopes this’ll be okay with the gang. “Do you wanna come with us?”

There’s a pause on the other end of the line. “You guys want me to hang out with you?” Choerry asks quietly, in disbelief.

Hyejoo feels herself getting embarrassed. What was she thinking? Why would Choerry turn down a party with a bunch of the popular kids to make her mom drive them around the entire night? What she doesn’t know is that Choerry is so happy at the random miracle that she can barely speak. 

“YES!” The bubbly girl shouts into the phone.

“What?” Hyejoo can’t believe her ears.

“YES! I WOULD LOVE TO! And I can drive you guys too!” Choerry says, eager to please. “But, only if you guys want!” 

Hyejoo _really_ can’t believe her ears. She didn’t even need to ask!

“Um?! Wow! Yes, that would be great Choerry, thanks- Wait, what about your party?”

“Eh, her parties are…” Choerry trails off, feeling a bit ashamed to finish the sentence out loud. _Not fun._ “Plus, I want to dress up! I have my costume but Nayeon said it was lame, so I wasn’t going to wear it. But now I’ll get to!” 

“Okay!” Hyejoo says, upbeat for once. “Pick us all up whenever after eight? Yeri and I are at our own houses, but Yeojin is with Chae at her house.”

“Yay! Fun! Text the addys and I’ll put them in my GPS.” Choerry squeals excitedly and Hyejoo raises her brows with a laugh. “I’ll see you soon!” With that, Choerry hangs up. 

 _Well,_ Hyejoo thinks. _That was a lot easier than I thought._

***

_“HUMP ME! FUCK ME!”_

Haseul cringes in the driver’s seat as the piercing cries of the song blare through her car speakers.

Yeojin nods along silently to the beat in shotgun, with an appreciative, contemplative expression akin to an avid Christian witnessing a passionate sermon. 

_“DADDY BETTA’ MAKE ME CHOKE. HUMP ME! FUCK ME! MY TUNNEL LOVES A DEEPTHROAT.”_

“Sweetie, can we please change this,” Haseul asks her daughter politely, who is currently in charge of the music. 

“What! Mom this is CupcakKe!” Yeojin exclaims, and cranks up the volume. _“Lick, lick, lick lick, I wanna eat, yo’ dick.”_ The child raps along with a deep voice, as they drive follow the GPS through the next suburban town over from their own. _“But I can’t fuck up my nails, so Imma pick it up with chopsticks.”_

Haseul was on her way to drop her daughter off for Halloween night at one of her closest friends’ houses. That friend just happened to be Chaewon. Ms. Wong’s daughter.

The principal’s heart beats in her throat as she nervously drives to Vivi’s house for the first time. There’s just something thrilling about seeing her on a weekend, in an environment that isn’t school - something that makes whatever exists between them, even if it’s only in Haseul’s daydreams, more real.

 _“MOUTH WIDE OPEN, MOUTH WIDE OPEN, MOUTH WIDE OPEN LIKE I WAS AT THE DENTIST,”_ Yeojin chants demonically.

“Okay-” Haseul is simply overwhelmed with the obscenities and presses the power button of the car stereo.

 _“Mom!”_ Yeojin pouts at the new silence, hugging the duffel bag of her Halloween costume and overnight clothes close to her chest. “Come on!” 

“That was egregious, Yeojin.” 

“Okay mom, we all know you’re a _dyke_ but there’s no need to throw a fit. Sometimes art just needs to be looked at from the third person. She is a brave, bold, beautiful woman who is just speaking her truth.” 

“Alright, Oprah. I’ll turn it back on if you shuffle my playlist,” Haseul says leisurely, ignoring her daughter as the GPS instructs her to make a right. 

Yeojin groans. 

“Yeojin, how come you never play any of my songs anymore? That doesn’t make you very much of the GOAT if you ask me.” Haseul asserts casually, inserting more student vernacular she’s heard in the hallways. 

Yeojin scrunches her face in glares in disgust, and decides she’d rather hear her mother’s poor assortment of music than more of whatever the fuck that was. Reluctantly, she shuffles the playlist.

The dramatic chords of a familiar song begin to hit, and Yeojin groans. “Oh no-”

 _“You’re beautiful, that’s for sure,”_ Nelly Furtado from the year 2000 sings through the speakers. 

“OH MY GOOOOOOOOD!” Haseul happily yells out, like she just shot some heroin, losing control and swerving the car a little. “I LOVE BRITNEY!” 

Yeojin puts a hand to her mouth to stifle her reaction, and she stares at the driver in the car adjacent to them as a plea for help. Her mother only cranks the volume louder than before, continuing to sing along with a giant dorky smile as the car begins to boom in the middle of the road. Yeojin repeatedly yanks on the moving car’s child-locked door handle, but to no avail.

“Hah! Nice try, CHILD-LOCKED!” Haseul says, interrupting her performance, having learned from the last time Yeojin tried to roll out of her car in the middle of the highway.

The eighth grader is pretty sure this constitutes as child kidnapping.

As they hear the chorus building, Haseul takes rapid breaths as if charging up. 

 _“I’M LIKE A BIIIIIIIIIIRD, I’LL ONLY FLY AWAAAAAAAAAAAY!”_ Haseul sings at the top of her lungs. _“I DON’T KNOW WHERE MY SOUL IS, I DON’T KNOW WHERE MY HOME IS,”_ Haseul whines in a voice that resembles a poor Britney Spears impression. _“AndbabyallIneedforyouto- I’M LIIIIKE A BIIIIRD-”_

“CHANGE IT BEFORE I BREAK THE GLASS MOTHER!” Yeojin threatens over the boom of the bass.

“You can try! Hahaha!” Her mother giggles between lyrics, bouncing in her seat. 

Yeojin suddenly opens the glove compartment to reveal a large rock the size of her head. 

 _“Yeojin!”_ Haseul shrieks from her seat, as Yeojin pulls the giant rock into her lap. “WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?!”

“I’VE BEEN HAVING THIS IN HERE,” she yells over Nelly Furtado’s booming voice. “FOR EMERGENCIES!” 

“OKAY, YOU CAN CHANGE IT!” Haseul yells, lowering the volume. “Play some of that ‘Party Rock’!” 

 _“Party Rock?_ What are you, a hundred and five?!” Yeojin shrieks. 

“WE WOULDN’T HAVE THE MUSIC WE LOVE TODAY WITHOUT PARTY ROCK!” Haseul defends.

“WE WOULDN’T HAVE THIS CAR EITHER!” Yeojin counters, referring to the fact that her mother bought their orange Kia Soul based on the singular fact that Haseul loved its commercial with anthropomorphic hamsters shuffling to “Party Rock Anthem” by L.M.F.A.O. “BUT HERE WE ARE! IN THIS FUCK ASS BOX!” 

Haseul falls silent, as she continues to drive, clearly offended and now looking like a kicked puppy. 

“I thought this car was cool.” The mom says sadly in a quieter voice. 

Now Yeojin just feels bad, placing the rock back in the glove compartment. “Um,” the daughter says awkwardly in the front seat, looking at her mother who looks like she’s about to burst into tears behind the wheel. “Okay... Um, I guess you’re right mom. I mean, what other car can you say you’re hot-boxing and actually mean it literally.”

Haseul smiles a little at her daughter’s words. “Yeah!” She says confidently. “What’s hot-boxing?”

Yeojin snorts, and goes through her phone to pick a new song after turning on the stereo once again. “Here, I know you like this one.”

A kick drum pounds through the speakers, accompanied by a low roll of synth bass and soft humming. 

“YES!” Haseul exclaims, immediately recognizing it from countless listens as “bad guy” by Billie Eilish.

Yeojin sighs. “Please don’t make me regret this,” she mutters quietly.

“Whew, I love this song,” Her mother says as the introductory beats loop. “It’s so mysterious. So scandalous. I feel like such a naughty little girl.” Yeojin screams into her hand.

Haseul begins to sing along, softly panting out extremely unintelligible half-words because she doesn’t even know the lyrics. She aggressively bobs her head, short hair swishing on beat as they’re stopped at the red light.

Even though this happens every time this song comes on - no matter where they are... their car, the dressing room of a Forever 21, T.G.I. Friday’s - Yeojin wants to rip her eyes out in embarrassment.

_“I'm that bad type, make your mama sad type, make your girlfriend mad tight, might seduce your dad type-”_

“DUH!” Haseul randomly interjects.

“Too early mom! _God!”_ Yeojin massages her temples, exasperated because her mother can never, _ever_ , for the life of her get that part right. “Look at me.” The girl rasps out, as Haseul turns to face her. 

 _“I’m the baaaad guy…”_ Billie sings. Yeojin waits with held breath, ready to drop a finger to signal and teach her hag of a mother when to say the lyric.

“DUH!” Haseul doesn’t wait for Yeojin’s finger to drop, horribly offbeat.

Yeojin screams and drags her face down with her hands, and Haseul just snickers and keeps driving happily at the flash of green light. “YOU CAN’T EVEN TAKE CUES!” 

The GPS speaks this time, quieting the music. _“In 500 feet, you will arrive at your destination.”_

Their surroundings become increasingly beautiful, as they enter a Santa Monica neighborhood with quaint detached family homes and massive hanging trees that shade the entire road. 

Yeojin looks out of the window to admire the peaceful, homey neighborhood where her homie resides. Although her and Chaewon have been joined at the hip for most of middle school, she’d never been to her house before. “Oh my God! Ms. Wong lives here too!” Yeojin grins from ear to ear at the thought of her favorite teacher.

“Yeah,” Haseul breathes, quite nervously.

“OoooOoOo,” Yeojin teases like a knowing schoolmate. “Miss WOoOoonG,” she pokes at her driving mother, who blushes furiously and feels her heart rate speed up. 

“Stop,” Haseul attempts at being authoritative, but can’t suppress the smile on her face no matter how hard she tries.

“Someone’s excited,” Yeojin sneers with a wink. “What if it’s a trap house,” Yeojin snickers.

“It’s not gonna be a trap house Yeojin!” Haseul has _trap house_ defined in her tween lingo chart as _a poorly kept apartment for snorting cannabis._ “Do you see how nice this neighborhood is?”

“Imagine your girl lives in a trap house,” Yeojin says, and proceeds to cackle and throw her head back. 

_“Arrived.”_

Haseul parks the car on the curb, and scans the nearby homes for the house number that Vivi texted her. And then, she sees it. 

The suburban house is petite and gorgeous, colored a soft tan and donning multicolored rose bushes that surround the walkway to the front door. It’s homey and, well, Vivi, except for one glaring, alien aspect - Haseul’s eyes widen in shock at the flashy green lamborghini parked in her driveway. 

“Ms. Wong has a _lambo?!”_ Yeojin’s jaw drops in awe. 

Haseul nervously gets out of her car with her daughter, and adjusts her striped white button up and her hair. And then again, three more times, like she’s going on a date as opposed to dropping her daughter off at a friend’s house for the night. Yeojin notices her mother’s overgrooming, as she climbs out onto the curb with her duffle bag and waits expectantly. 

Her eighth grader smiles a little bit. “You look good, mom,” she admits tenderly. Not just to bolster her confidence, but because her mom should know it’s true. 

Haseul stops, and meets her eyes to smile at her endearingly. “Thanks, sweetie.” 

Haseul then pulls out two large fake eyebrows and slaps them on her forehead in a V shape. Yeojin chuckles at her mother’s sudden change in appearance, very confused, but decides against even asking her what she’s dressed up as.

The mother and daughter walk up to the house and wait on the driveway, and Haseul takes out her iPhone.

 **Haseul:** We’re outside!

She sends a knocking minion sticker for good measure. 

 **Vivi:** Coming! :)

Haseul’s heartbeat accelerates as she takes a gulp. 

She freezes at the sound of the front door opening. And there walks Vivi from around the corner, striking dark red hair flowing in the chilly afternoon breeze. Haseul feels the whole atmosphere change for the better.

“MS. WOOOONG!” Yeojin greets enthusiastically. 

“Hey, Yeojin!” Vivi says with a fond smile, and Yeojin’s eyes light up.

Suddenly, Haseul doesn’t know where to put her hands, so she stuffs one stiffly in a front pocket of her tight jeans and runs one through her hair in an attempt to look like James Dean (forgetting she has a pair of massive angry eyebrows plastered on her forehead).

Then, the art teacher’s eyes meet Haseul’s and smiles even more. “Hi,” she says to her coworker softly, and Haseul’s heart is beating in overdrive. “Yeojin, you can go on inside. Chae’s waiting for you in the living room!” Vivi says, and Yeojin sprints in.

“I’ll see you tomo- Okay…” Haseul says weakly with a laugh, and Vivi giggles. 

“Happy Halloween,” Vivi says, and Haseul marvels at her beauty in the setting sun. “And you are...” she questions softly, taking in Haseul’s seemingly normal attire.

“Irene!” Haseul answers with a cheeky smile, pointing at the giant angry eyebrows on her forehead.

“Oh sorry, how could I have missed that,” Vivi smirks, and lightly slaps Haseul’s arm playfully.

 _WHEW!_ Haseul thinks to herself, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. “This is _yours?”_ The principal asks impressedly, gesturing to the lime green Lamborghini.

“No, it’s actually-”

“Honey?” 

Haseul’s heart stops hard at the sound of a man’s voice coming from Vivi’s doorway. 

 _Oh please no, please, PLEASE,_ Haseul begs internally, refusing to accept what she already knows is coming. She yanks off the exaggerated eyebrows, nearly ripping off her actual eyebrows in the process.

And suddenly, the owner of the voice is rounding the corner. An older Caucasian man - a sizably built one at that - wearing a white button-up shirt, a tie, and sleek black pants approaches the two women. 

“Sorry I would not like to convert to mormonism?” Haseul says at him, losing all control in her brain for selective speech. She swears the joke sounded better in her head. 

“What was that?” He asks with an oblivious pearly white smile. Vivi at his side, however, has her hand to her mouth to stop her incredulous, wide-eyed smile from turning into a loud laugh at Haseul’s joke. 

“Haseul, this is Nate, my boyfriend,” Vivi swoops in with suppressed amusement, and just hearing the confirmation makes Haseul feel like someone punched her in the throat. “Nate, this is Haseul, she’s the principal at work.” 

“Hi, I’m Haseul,” she says, quickly recovering and switching to business mode and she holds out a hand to shake. “I’ve heard so much about you!” she supplements, to be polite. _Like when you left her without a lunch...!_

“Oh, you’re Haseul! I have too, she loves you!” Nate says, and Haseul’s eyes widen at Vivi. But the other woman is too busy looking at her boyfriend with a proud smile. 

When Haseul shakes Nate’s hand, she fights the overwhelming urge to shiver. For such a polished looking man, his hands are so rough - a touch like sandpaper with an overly strong grip to match. Haseul thinks of his calloused hands all over Vivi’s soft skin, and the thought just makes her sick to her stomach.

But she’s met enough unpleasant parents, children, and educators to not have perfected her fake smile. “You have a very nice car!” 

“Why thank you,” he replies suavely, and all too conveniently slides an arm around Vivi at the same time in a way that Haseul can’t help but note is like she’s apart of his collection of possessions. “It was a gift from my parents!” 

 _Of course it was,_ Haseul thinks. 

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you Nate, but I should probably get going,” Haseul says casually, deciding she’s had enough of him and frankly not wanting to spend another minute in his presence. “I have to, um... get the candy ready for kids, haha.” 

“Awww,” Vivi smiles affectionately, and Haseul does too at the sight, even if she’s tucked under this man’s arm.

“I’ll see you at work?” The principal says. Maybe it was better at work, in their own little world. Where certain realities weren’t present to taint. 

Vivi nods. “I’ll see you then.”

“Really nice to meet you Nate,” Haseul smiles once more at the boyfriend of the woman she’s in love with.

“Likewise!” 

Haseul starts to walk back to her car with one last “Happy Halloween!” She wants to turn back around to look at Vivi, but she’d rather not have the image of them together further cemented into her memory. All she can think about is how he sounded calling her honey, how rough his touch felt against her skin.

Talk about an afternoon gone wrong.

Vivi and Nate watch from the driveway as the other woman walks back across the street. The man hums to his girlfriend approvingly.

“I think she likes me!” 

***

Hours later when the sun has long since set, an exhausted Jungeun is finally on her way home - not to sleep, but to take Choerry and her friends what her daughter vividly described as “haunted housing.”

The CFO tried to object. Work, just as she predicted, had kept her even later than ever before. From conferences to reports, there were always suddenly a million things to do and a million of other people’s problems that only she could fix. Not to mention that her daughter was asking to be out late on a Sunday night. But Choerry, to her mother’s extreme irritation, had apparently already told everyone involved (and their parents) that she could provide transportation for the entire bridge of Halloween night to the morning hours of November 1st.  

It didn’t help that Jungeun had only gotten a single hour of sleep last night either. 

She wouldn’t exactly say she’s in the holiday spirit. 

Jungeun wished that Jinsol would just take Choerry out instead. It’s not like her wife had been doing anything worthwhile over her time off so far. She and Sooyoung had been suspended from any St. Jihyo’s fundraisers for a month, courtesy of Irene, so Jinsol spent her days at home. 

And yes, while she was fed up with her wife for becoming a viral sensation for all the wrong reasons, but she was infuriated in comparison at the fact that Jinsol had been doing nothing to help out around the house while Jungeun slaved away. 

Once, - well, several times - Jungeun had asked her to take out the trash, and Jinsol didn’t say no, but she kept putting it off because she was binging the entirety of the MTV show _Catfish_. (Jinsol thought the show was going to be about actual catfish, and can’t deny that she was a little bit disappointed.) 

But for Jungeun, it was even more stressful to keep nagging her wife to do things and return only to be disappointed. And so, she just ended up taking out the trash herself, along with the other duties in the house that, due to Jinsol’s mess, accumulated with urgency but were left, for the most part, unattended to.

At this point, Jungeun had lost so much hope that she figured if she asked her wife to take Choerry tonight, she’d somehow end up doing that herself too.

Nevertheless, Jungeun would do anything for her daughter. Even if it means putting her own health on the back burner. 

So the mother braces herself for the long night ahead as she drives uphill to the Pacific Ocean promontory where their home resides.

Unlike the Ha residence which was dark, shrouded in trees, and positioned high in affluent Beverly Hills to see the concrete jungle of Los Angeles below, the Kims’ estate was built at the peak of a privately owned coastal cliff with a complete picture-perfect view of the ocean.

Jungeun, former champion of Stanford University’s swim team, and Jinsol, one of the nation’s most promising up-and-coming marine biologists, were in complete and enthusiastic agreement at the idea of living adjacent to the water. And so, not long after their marriage, the couple chose and purchased an entire promontory for them to build their castle upon. And as a plus, it came with a private beach a hundred feet below that Jinsol and Jungeun happily made their own.

Everything about their home itself was porcelain white - the building’s massive exterior, the hard floor outside, the glowing encasings of the luscious plants, and more. The house, built like a sharper, more modern version of a Greek villa, when fully illuminated possessed a shine that could rival the brightest of lighthouses on the darkest of nights. 

The CFO parks her BMW in their driveway behind her wife’s Tesla, leaving room to pull out the luxury minivan from the garage. She exits her car, and walks towards the front door. All she needs to do is fetch Choerry and fill her coffee container to get her through the night ahead.

Jungeun enters to the chatter of the living room TV and her and Jinsol’s favorite blanket on one of the couches, but no Jinsol. 

“Choerry!” She calls, walking to their central staircase that spirals around a gleaming blue cylindrical fish tank. 

“Coming!” Choerry responds from somewhere on the second floor. 

Jungeun goes to their kitchen and approaches her best friend, the coffee machine. _Let’s just get this over with,_ she thinks, as the machine slowly squirts coffee into her empty thermos. 

She leans on the granite countertop, and as her eyelids feel heavier and heavier, she succumbs and lets them close. But just before she drifts away to dreamland, the muffled sounds of a flushing toilet and running sink from the bathroom nearby bring her back to her exhausted reality.

As she walks to the silver fridge to get out her coffee creamer, she sees Jinsol coming out of their bathroom in the corner of her eye.

“Hi honey,” Jinsol greets, shaking her hands dry.

“Where’s the coffee creamer?” Jungeun asks quite harshly at its absence in their fridge.

“Oh- I-”

Jinsol is interrupted by the sounds of a very excited Choerry coming down the stairs. In a glamorous, fully suited Captain Marvel costume that she made herself, she poses like a model with a big grin once she has both of her mothers’ attentions. “Like it?” 

“Get the minivan keys and wait in the car,” Jungeun instructs with a sigh, and Choerry obeys, putting her airpods in and walking off to another corridor to the entrance to the garage. She doesn’t even look in her other mother’s direction. (Ever since her classmates told Choerry they saw her mother on Pornhub, the child only looks at Jinsol when she absolutely has to.) 

Jungeun waits to hear the door close before she continues. “Where is the coffee creamer.” 

Jinsol, in her pajamas, scratches the back of her head. “Sorry… I used it all today. But hey, since you’re going out again I figure you can get some on your way back,” she says from the living room, barely looking at her wife.

And maybe it’s the fatigue, maybe it’s the stress, maybe it’s the fact that Jinsol was perfectly capable of going out and getting the creamer herself, or maybe it’s all three and more - but behind Jungeun’s sleepy eyes, something flares.

“That’s a bit inconsiderate. Don’t you think?” Jungeun bites.

The air between them is suddenly taut with tension. Jinsol looks entirely caught off-guard. “What?”

A pause, before Jungeun lets out a scoff, her face with a wry, weak smile and narrowed eyes at her wife. “Unbelievable.”

“Sweetie...” Jinsol says calmly with concern, slowly walking across the room to the kitchen.

 _“No._ Do not ‘sweetie’ me.” Jungeun snaps, the term of endearment only seeming to infuriate her further. 

Jinsol stops in her tracks.

“You know, I thought that maybe, just _maybe_ you’d pick up on some of my stuff since you’re taking time off and doing _absolutely nothing._ But I guess I was wrong! I still have to do everything, don’t I?” 

Every word slices across Jinsol’s heart, as she stands, frozen from an onslaught sudden guilt. “Jungeun, I-”

“I thought you taking time off meant that you would help me too. Not just participate _only when you want to.”_

Everything that has been building inside Jungeun for so long suddenly rises to the surface with every step she takes.

“For ten years Jinsol.” The brunette says through clenched teeth. “Ten years. You haven’t been helping me out. I’m not your fucking maid, you know.” 

Jinsol suddenly feels freezing cold. She doesn’t know what to say - she’s been spending those years increasingly working harder than ever before for her family. But she knows Jungeun has reason to be angry, and she’s open to admitting she’s wrong; she’s open to anything except fighting her best friend, but she just needs her to calm down first. “You’re not, of course you’re not-”

“Well that’s what you’ve turned me into, apparently,” Jungeun continues.

Jinsol, stunned, feels her chest painfully tightening, while Jungeun is far from finished. “Well…” Jinsol starts quietly, unsure of the right words to say. “We could… get one…” 

“Are you _fucking_ serious Jinsol?” 

“I-”

“I DON’T WANT _A FUCKING_ _MAID!”_ Jungeun shouts suddenly, tearing away every bit of peace left in the air. Jinsol tenses and sinks into herself like she’s been slapped. Jungeun’s never yelled at her before. Never like this. “I WANT MY WIFE TO HELP ME!” 

“Jungeun,” Jinsol whispers desperately. She _hates_ the yelling, she hates the way fear is taking over her, but her plea swiftly cut off.

“I GO SHOPPING, ALONE. I TAKE CHOERRY TO SCHOOL, ALONE. I FEED CHOERRY, _ALONE.”_ Jungeun screams at her, pointing a finger at her relentlessly, and Jinsol bites her lip to keep her tears in. “DO YOU THINK I HAVE TIME FOR THIS _BULLSHIT_? I HAVEN’T SLEPT FOR MORE THAN FOUR HOURS IN SO LONG!”

“I- I didn’t know-”

“BECAUSE YOU _NEVER_ KNOW.” Jungeun’s voice ups an octave. “You wouldn’t know _anything_ if it _hit_ you in the face.” Jinsol has shrunk at the outburst, but looks up to see that her wife is trembling with anger.

Jungeun quiets, but her shouts still ring in Jinsol’s ears. The shorter woman lowers her head for a few moments before looking at Jinsol again, this time, with sad eyes.

“I f-feel,” Jungeun starts, and turns her face away in an attempt to hide the tears pooling in her eyes, a sight that simply opens a new layer of hurt in Jinsol that she didn’t even know existed. “I feel like I just let you walk all over me?” Jungeun questions so weakly, looking away and biting her lip, voice cracking. “Because I do everything. And I always, _always_ say yes to you, and,” she cries, “I never get anything in return.” 

Jungeun is covering her sobs with her hand now, and as hot tears roll down Jinsol’s face she can’t take seeing her in pain anymore. She wants so badly to run over and take her wife into her arms. But she can’t. Because it’s all her fault.

“I’m… I’m s-so tired,” Jungeun chokes out, voiceless, defeated. “Every single day, I’m so, so tired-” She meets Jinsol’s panicked, teary eyes. “I’m exhausted,” she whispers, then silences to shut her eyes and cry quietly. 

Before Jinsol can even take another breath, the sound of the minivan’s car horn rips through the deafening silence. One long honk, followed by several consecutive short ones coming from their impatient daughter waiting in the garage.

And once the quiet returns, Jungeun says the words that break Jinsol’s heart.

“I can’t do this anymore.” 

Jinsol feels her entire world stop.

Panic begins to run through every cell in her body, the ambiguity of her wife’s statement shaking her to the core. Suddenly, it’s hard to breathe.

“I have to take Choerry haunted housing,” Jungeun says in a steely tone, tears still flowing freely down her face. “Another thing I have to do alone,” she adds, the bite returning to her voice. 

Jungeun turns to grab her coffee container and puts on a pair of sunglasses from her purse. 

And before Jinsol can say another word, Jungeun is gone.

***

Jungeun slides herself into their luxury minivan, her daughter already comfortable in the passenger seat. Choerry looks confusedly at her mother as she presses a button to raise the garage door behind them. “Why are you wearing sunglasses? It’s 8 at night…”

Jungeun cringes at her daughter’s question. She doesn’t really think it’s appropriate to tell her child the truth - that her other mom’s chronic lack of productivity had driven her to a breakdown, and that her sunglasses were hiding her still teary eyes.

“It’s apart of my costume. I’m… a bodyguard,” she clarifies quietly, starting up the car.

“But you’re in sweatpants-”

“I didn’t have time to change my whole outfit Choerry can I please go get your friends already?” Jungeun snaps quickly.

“Okay! Okay! Jeez…” Choerry huffs as she pairs her phone to her car, taking control over the stereo. Jungeun lets her; she definitely needs her daughter’s tunes to stay awake tonight.

Sighing sleepily, Jungeun asks “So who am I getting again? The usual group?” 

She sees Choerry shift a bit awkwardly in the corner of her eye. “Um… No actually. I mean, we’re all still friends! This is just… a new group that I’ve been hanging out with,” the eighth grader says, with the hesitation of entering uncharted territory.

Jungeun lifts an eyebrow, but nods acceptingly. “Okay, just put in their addresses.” Choerry nods.

Although Choerry is excited, there are so many things she worries about for the night ahead. The girl has known them all since sixth grade, Hyejoo since birth, and yet it feels like she’s preparing for some kind of debut. She desperately wants to make a good impression, and feels overwhelmingly self-conscious at the thought of not being able to present herself well enough.

But Choerry thinks that, maybe today, she’ll just try to relax and be herself.

What has she got to lose?

***

The brisk fog outside is perfectly eerie for Halloween, while swarms of costumed children and a glistening full moon light up the night. 

Jungeun has been driving for about thirty minutes now, and staying awake has been surprisingly easy for her. How could it not be, considering the unexpected entertainment she was being provided with by the children entering her car?

The first two eighth graders, her goddaughter Hyejoo to her pleasant surprise and a cute new girl named Yeri, were picked up normally enough. The two came out of their estates normally, and got into the vehicles without any problems. Well, other than Irene forcing Jungeun to roll down her window as she listed emergency contacts for 10 minutes straight. And Jiwoo slamming her smiling face up against the glass.

Both of the middle schoolers were dressed in costume, just like Jungeun’s own daughter. 

Yeri had her dark hair up in an extravagantly high ponytail and wore an oversized light pink hoodie to be who she proudly calls “Yeriana Grande.” The child’s makeup was glamorous, nails done equally as fabulous, and the only reason she wasn’t decked out in high heels was because she (in an obviously practiced airy Ariana impression) said she “can’t let these ghosts catch me slippin’.” 

Hyejoo seemed to not be dressed up at all, donning her usual black athleisure attire reminding Jungeun very vividly of Sooyoung in college. However, on top of her head was a green diamond from _The Sims_ , hovering above a headband via pipe cleaner.

Once the two girls were seated in the back, Jungeun noticed the change in Choerry’s demeanor immediately. The CFO swears she has never seen her daughter so enthusiastically engaged in a conversation with her friends… ever. As the three of them discussed random pop culture events loudly, Jungeun couldn’t help but smile herself at every one of Yeri’s quick-witted remarks or Hyejoo’s sarcastically dry shutdowns.  

But it’s when Jungeun arrives at the final pick-up house that she realizes these kids are really one of a kind.

At the curb of a neighborhood with beautiful suburban homes, Jungeun watches as young children happily walk beside their car with their parents in tow. 

Her mind briefly wanders to the first time her and Jinsol took their daughter trick-or-treating, how her wife had lovingly convinced her to dress up as a queen with her to appease their pleading, princess 5 year-old. 

She quickly forces the thought back down when she remembers the events of earlier tonight.

Suddenly, a pocket-sized child in a hot pink wig and equally bright dress catches the mother’s eye as she runs full speed through a rose bush pathway of the nearest house. Following behind her is an even _shorter_ girl wearing a bald cap, giant sunglasses, a fake goatee, and a baggy untailored suit. 

Jungeun isn’t sure what the girls are smuggling until eggs begin to splatter all over the bright green lamborghini in the driveway. 

_“IT’S GO WON MINAJ BITCH!”_

Both Choerry and her mother gasp, while Yeri cheers Hyejoo nods approvingly in the back like the car owner surely deserves it.

Relentlessly, the two of them egg the expensive sports car until they’re all out of ammunition. Then, the girls are sprinting to Jungeun’s car like their lives depend on it.

The bewildered CFO isn’t really sure how to react when they enter. It’s not every day she sees a mini Nicki Minaj vandalize someone’s car. Whose car even was that? One of their parents? But at the same time, Jungeun didn’t know the whole story, so who was she to judge? Besides… it wouldn’t be the first time she’d fled from a car vandalization.

She shakes the thought off quickly, delaying the confrontation of her feelings from earlier. Jinsol just can’t seem to leave her mind tonight. (But when has she ever?) 

All seriousness aside, it _was_ Halloween, and Jungeun thought it was funny.

When the girls reach the car, Jungeun hits a switch to open the doors for them.

“HELLO EVERYONE,” The shorter, bald-capped girl huffs out loudly, and Jungeun marvels at the fact that the child looks no older than 10 but has the speaking voice of a 50 year-old overly-friendly white woman truck driver.

“Hey Yeojin,” Hyejoo greets with an amused smile, and looks behind her for Nicki Minaj who follows to the car close behind. 

“HeeeEeeEooOOOwaAH!” Yeri greets, attempting at an Ariana Grande vocal run. 

“...Alright...” Yeojin says outside of the car, not yet coming in. “Madam President! What a royal surprise,” she addresses Choerry, who giggles fondly in the front seat. 

And Jungeun watches under her sunglasses as Yeojin raises her own shades, the little girl’s pupils dilating and breath hitching in her throat.

“Well hello there…” Yeojin rasps out, suddenly speaking in the most sultry tone an eighth grader can possibly muster. “Mademoiselle…”

Jungeun’s eyes widen in amusement at the middle schooler who is clearly hitting on her. She holds her hand out of the driver’s seat window to shake. “Hi, I’m Mrs. Kim.”

Instead of shaking her hand, Yeojin brings the mother’s hand to her lips for a soft kiss. Choerry puts her head in her hand, extremely embarrassed. “Call me Yeojin…” She says in an attempt at a sexy voice. “You look… how you say… radiant tonight?”

Jungeun snickers, quite entertained by the most bold child she’s ever met in her life. “Very nice to meet you Yeojin.”

“Mrs. Kim… How would you like to be Mrs. Worldwide?”

“YOU’RE BEING WEIRD,” Hyejoo yells from the backseat. 

 _“SHUT UP!”_ Yeojin growls back, then switching back into character as her best attempt at a womanizing billionaire. “Mrs. Kim... I’m afraid there are no more seats in the back… I guess the only option is for me to sit in your lap…” 

“This is literally a minivan with three more seats.” Hyejoo speaks again.

Suddenly, the Nicki Minaj is at her partner in crime’s side in the open window. “Hi Mrs. Kim! I’m Chaewon,” and Jungeun’s heart melts at the tiny little voice, starkly juxtaposed with Yeojin who sounds like a seasoned chainsmoker. 

“HURRY UP AND GET IN SO WE CAN GO!” Yeri yells, feeling empowered as the diva she is dressed as. 

And the two girls get in the Kims’ van, Chaewon taking a middle seat right next to Hyejoo in the back, while Yeojin sits in front of them with Yeri next to the aisle. The children sink into their plush, comfortable seats.

“This is a very nice car Mrs. Kim. You should let me take you for a ride someday,” Yeojin proposes confidently.

“You want to give her a ride in her own car?” Hyejoo chortles.

“Your poor ass…” Chaewon puckers her lips next to her.

“QUIET OLIVIA!” Yeojin yells, adjusting her ridiculous fake goatee.

“You know I’m married right Yeojin?” Jungeun smirks into the rear view mirror, playfully deciding to join in.

“Oh yes…” Yeojin recalls, remembering thick-ass Dr. Kim. She’d almost forgotten about her! _But two is better than one…_ she snickers to herself. “You are both incredibly lucky…” 

“What are you dressed up as anyway Yeojin?” Choerry asks as Jungeun moves the car forward to drive them to their first house of the night.

“Well I wanted to be something really terrifying,” Yeojin says back in her normal voice, adjusting her bald cap. “So I decided to be the scariest thing to _ever_ happen to rap.”

“She’s Pitbull.” Yeri clarifies from behind Jungeun, and the mom can’t help but let out a laugh along with the others in the car.

“I wanted to be 6ix9ine for the rainbow hair but you know, it’s too controversial. Still a little raw there.” Yeojin says with a serious nod.

Jungeun snickers, despite not even knowing who that is. Maybe she could take off her sunglasses earlier than she had thought.

***

“May I have the aux Princess Bubblegum?” Yeojin asks Choerry from the back, after various more passionate conversations that had Choerry laughing her hardest in years. 

Throughout the entire ride so far, Jungeun noticed the girls paused without hesitation to educate Choerry on any unfamiliar topics as to keep her daughter included, which gave her even more reason to like them; she noticed that more often than not, Choerry’s usual circle wouldn’t even stop to do the same. 

“We don’t have an aux cord, we use Bluetooth-”

“WOOOOOOOOW WE GOT BILL GATES IN THE HOUSE!” Yeojin exclaims. “Can I use your phone then?” 

Choerry nods with a little yawn at being out later than usual, and tosses the other girl her iPhone. Yeojin lights up the screen, and is greeted by a close-up picture of Chad as her lockscreen. _“Eugh…”_ She scrunches her face in disgust.

As their car zooms through the nearly empty freeway, Yeri leans over the aisle to watch Yeojin look for a starting song. 

“It’s not what I think it is, is it?” the PTA president’s daughter asks knowingly.

“Oh it’s absolutely what you think it is,” the principal’s daughter smiles. “We’re about to light this bitch up,” she whispers, causing Jungeun much alarm. 

“What are you kids-” Jungeun starts when suddenly, a familiar very high-pitched bubblegum pop beat starts over the speakers.

 _“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”_ Chaewon screeches like a wild animal from all the way in the back, scaring the living daylights out of Jungeun. The tiny girl has barely spoken the entire car ride, and now she’s basically doing the best she can to stand up while being restricted by her seatbelt.

“YEAAAAH!” Yeri cheers, while Hyejoo has the biggest smile that Jungeun has ever seen on the serious child’s face since her birth.

Choerry is very confused, as she begins to recognize the song as the smash hit ‘Super Bass’ by Nicki Minaj. “What’s going o-”

 **_“THIS ONE IS FOR THE BOYS WITH THE BOOMIN’ SYSTEM, TOP DOWN AC WITH THE COOLIN’ SYSTEM,”_ ** Chaewon shouts fervidly throughout the car with the flow of someone who has done this innumerable times before.

Jungeun looks up to the tiny child in the mirror, astonished. _“WHEN HECOMEUPINTHECLUB HE BE BLAZIN’ UP, GOT STACKS ON DECK LIKE HE SAVIN’ UP!”_

 _“AND HE ILL, HE REAL, HE MIGHT GOTTA DEAL, HE POP BOTTLES AND HE GOT THE RIGHT KINDA FEEL,”_ Yeojin raps with Chaewon.

 _“HE COLD, HE DOPE, HE MIGHT SELL COKE, HE ALWAYS IN THE AIR BUT HENEVAFLYCOACH, HE A MADAFUCKINTRIP-TRIP SAILOR OF THE SHIP-SHIP, WHEN HE MAKE IT DRIP-DRIP KISSEM ON THE LIP-LIP,”_ Chaewon spits like she was born to. 

The children continue to rap together with the dedication of a Grammy performance in the seats behind them. Jungeun is absolutely enamored with them, looking over to Choerry at her side, whose eyes twinkle with wonder in the faint light.

(The CFO gets the impression that Choerry hasn’t been very close to this eccentric band of misfits. But judging from the smile on her face, Jungeun can tell she wants to be.)

_“Yes I did, yes I did, somebody please tell him who the eff I is! I am Go Won Minaj, I mack them dudes up, back coupes up, and chuck the deuce up-”_

**_“BOY YOU GOT MY HEARTBEAT RUNNIN’ AWAY!”_ **A new voice makes Jungeun’s smile even more enormous - it’s Yeri, belting out perfectly on pitch! 

 ** _“BEATIN’ LIKE A DRUM AND IT’S COMIN’ YOUR WAY!”_** All the eighth graders in the car are now singing together at the top of their lungs, even Choerry, looking right at home. **_“CAN’T YOU HEAR THAT BOOM BADOOMBOOM BOOM BADOOMBOOM BASS-”_**

 _“He got that super bass…”_ Hyejoo supplements monotonously, with a brilliant smile on her face. 

**_“BOOM BADOOMBOOM BOOM BADOOMBOOM BASS-”_ **

_“Yeah that’s that super bass.”_ Hyejoo echoes again, while Chaewon cheers happily next to her and pulls her in for a suffocating hug.

Just when Jungeun thinks she’s seen it all, Yeojin, Yeri, Chaewon, and Hyejoo all begin to perfectly vocalize the intermission together, electrifying the air.

Where these eighth graders learned how to do complex vocal arrangements, Jungeun has absolutely no idea, and they sing the chorus all together again as the car zooms through the freeway.

 _“Yo… YO- THIS ONE IS FOR THE BOYS IN THE POLOS,”_ Chaewon tackles the entirety of the second verse alone, rapping the syllables flawlessly. The talent from the back of the car puts everyone in the car on Cloud 9. The vehicle is filled with jubilant laughter and poor attempts at rapping along.

And when Chaewon finishes to breathe, they all unify for the chorus once more. Jungeun can’t help but join in with them to sing, making Yeojin scream in ecstasy. 

The futuristic music begins to slow and fade in and out, commencing a build-up.

“THE BRIDGE IS COMING! THE BRIDGE IS COMING!”

“CHOERRY DO IT!” 

Choerry’s grin takes up her entire face as she clears her throat.

_“See I need you in my life for me to stay! No, no, no, no, no I know you'll staaAAy!”_

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Yeojin screams in shock as Choerry sings perfectly.

_“No no no no no don’t go away...”_

Since when could Choerry sing this well?!? The girls surreally cheer her on deafeningly, like they’ve all known each other for ages as opposed to be stuck all together tonight by pure chance.

(Jungeun looks over again at the elated smile on her daughter’s face in the golden glow of the highway lights, and she knows she’d call it fate.)

_“Boy you got my heartbeat runnin' away…! Don't you hear that heartbeat comin' your way! Oh it be like, boom, badoomboom, boom badoomboom, bass,”_

_“CAN’T YOU HEAR THAT_ **_BOOM BADOOMBOOM BOOM BADOOMBOOM BASS!”_ **The other girls sing/yell.

The five voices all come together again to sing the final chorus, the minivan booming, teeming with joy, and Choerry has never, ever felt a euphoria quite like this in her young life.

The raw emotion simply overwhelms the purple-haired girl, and she welcomes tears of pure happiness as they begin to pool in her eyes mid-song. Choerry knows that today, in the presence of four classmates she never thought she’d be with, she’s finally found what she’s been aching, praying, dying to have for years. 

Belonging, confidence, happiness -

Harmony.

They belt out the last lyrics to the exuberant song, and scream until the stereo finally grows quiet. All the eighth graders and Mrs. Kim cheer out in glee, and Choerry chuckles over her watering eyes in the dark.

Jungeun laughs happily behind the wheel. She turns to look at her daughter, unsure of the last time she’s ever seen her so happy being out with friends.

And Jungeun hopes she never has to see Nayeon and company ever again.

***

The mother finally pulls the kids into the giant parking lot for Haunted House #1, other teenagers spilling out of their own vehicles ready for cheap thrills on Halloween night.

“I heard this one is really scary…” Chaewon says worriedly, long since reverted back to her tiny speaking voice. The child looks genuinely distressed looking out the window to the ominously decorated circus tent. 

Hyejoo notices her uneasiness, of course.

“Hey… you don’t need to be scared okay?”

Jungeun hears, and she brings her attention in the mirror to the gay activity in the very back. Yeojin and Yeri raise their eyebrows knowingly at each other. 

“I’ll, um…” Hyejoo’s cheeks go red. “I can... hold your hand if you want? And I can guide you, so you won’t even need to open your eyes!”

 _“I’m_ scared too!” Choerry chimes with a big smile, just to rub it in.

“Ain’t nobody holding your hand!” Yeojin exclaims, making Jungeun crack up. 

Chaewon turns away from the window to look at the taller girl next to her with a happy smile. “Thanks Oli,” she intertwines their fingers together.

Jungeun smiles at her goddaughter, knowing what’s going on here. But she wants to revert attention from them before they get embarrassed. “Okay girls, I assume you don’t want me to go inside with you-”

“I would love for you to join us Mrs. Kim.” Yeojin says, back in her sultry voice, and she just looks like Megamind with all her hair stuffed under her bald cap. 

Jungeun smirks and rolls her eyes. “SO, I’ll be waiting in this spot. Choerry text me when you guys are finished okay?” 

Choerry nods and is about to exit the car.

“Thank you Mrs. Kim!” The voice belongs to Yeri. The rest of them quickly repeat the same words, making Jungeun smile.

“Thank you mommy,” her eighth grader says sweetly, giving her a swift kiss on the cheek before climbing out of the car.

The costumed children all vacate the minivan, and Jungeun locks the car and reclines her seat, hoping to get a small nap in before the next stop. 

When they’re finally all gathered behind the back of the car, Chaewon gasps. “Holy _shit_ Choerry!” 

All the girls are now looking at their student body president, mouths hanging open.

“What?” Choerry asks apprehensively, crossing her arms, suddenly very self-conscious of her outfit.

“Your _costume!”_ Chaewon’s eyes sparkle at the Captain Marvel suit, and she walks up to the taller girl to touch it. “This is so cool!”

“Wow, this is amazing Choerry!” Yeri says impressed. “I couldn’t really see it from where you were in the car, but damn girl! You must’ve paid a lot for this!” 

“Not really,” Choerry laughs humbly, in disbelief that Nayeon created. “I just made it with some supplies I told my mom to get from the store. I think it was like $20 total.” The purple-haired girl says, poking at her outfit, trying her best to hide the smile growing on her face from the admiration. “Well, I guess $40 if you count the lights.” 

“Lights?” Hyejoo asks, unable to disguise the interest from showing on her face.

“Yeah!” Choerry presses a button on the inside of her left wrist and suddenly, her suit is outlined by neon pink, yellow, and green, just like in the movie.

“Holy shit, how did you do this!” Yeojin questions, the colors reflecting off of her large black sunglasses. 

“It’s simple physics really, it wasn’t that hard…” Choerry says honestly and nonchalantly, as if it were every eighth grader’s common knowledge to have the skills of an electrical engineer. 

“Oh my God, you’re a nerd.” Yeojin says, a smug look growing on her face as if she just discovered some juicy secret. “You’re a _NERD!”_

“I am not!” Choerry protests, turning off the lights on her suit and clenching her fists. 

“Woah there Carol, I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” Yeojin corrects, putting up her hands. “It just means you’re different than what I expected. Literally none of us could’ve made a costume like yours. That’s really fucking cool.” 

Choerry relaxes and smiles shyly at the compliment, letting go of any hatred she previously had for it. “You don’t… You don’t think it’s lame?”

“What? Hell no! This is the coolest thing ever!” Chaewon giggles from beside Yeojin. 

Hyejoo nods approvingly at her side, their fingers still interlaced. “It’s dope shit, Choerry.” 

“Thanks you guys,” Choerry plays with her hair a bit as she beams. 

The five eighth grade misfits walk through parking lot, brightly lit in the night, following surrounding crowds of older teens to the circus tent.

At the side of the tent is the entrance to a long but fast-moving line, and a booth for collecting admission cash. The girls pay up, queue themselves in line, and feel chills run down their backs as the lights from the parking lot fade. Blacklights, spiderwebs, and laughing high schoolers now cover every corner. 

An actor dressed convincingly as Pennywise the clown lurks through the crowd in an attempt to instill fear, squeezing a loud horn every couple of minutes in someone’s ear.

“Isn’t that assault?” Hyejoo asks quietly. 

“Yeah, where the hell did you take us Yeojin? We’re like the tiniest people here,” Yeri questions apprehensively.

“We’re in Satan’s asshole, Yeri,” Yeojin answers. “The few, the proud, the marines. That’s what the fuck we are.”  

The clown blasts the horn again, a little too close to the group of girls, and Yeojin screams bloody murder, making the rest of them burst out in laughter.

“Awww, are you scared?” Choerry pokes Yeojin’s cheek only to have her hand swatted away. 

The much shorter girl puts on her oversized sunglasses. “I fear nothing. Literally nothing on this planet scares me. I could get shot in the face and walk away like nothing happened, completely unscathed.”

“That has nothing to do with being afraid…” Hyejoo says, and Yeri, out of Yeojin’s view, creeps behind the principal’s daughter.

“BOO!” Yeri screams abruptly in Yeojin’s ear, making her flail her arms around while she screams and curses her out.

Meanwhile, a middle-aged lady in front of them (who looks like the type to demand speaking to the manager) turns around to scowl at Yeojin causing so much commotion. “Excuse me child, are you ill?”

“Yeah I’m the illest, BITCH,” Yeojin sneers while adjusting her fake goatee.

The words scare the woman into turning back around as the other St. Jihyo’s girls laugh their hearts out at Yeojin’s shamelessness. “I’m so sorry,” Choerry whispers to the woman through her giggling fit.

The group is almost at the start of the haunted house, about to be let in when they start to finalize group tactics.

“Okay, so Yeojin is definitely going in the back.” 

“RACIST.” Yeojin puckers her lips with raised eyebrows.

“Are you serious to me right now? You literally cannot survive in the front.” Yeri defends. “Olivia should be in the front. She shows little to no emotion and would probably scare the actors more than they scare us.”

“Gee, thanks Yeri.” Hyejoo huffs, Chaewon rubbing her arm silently to reassure her.

“I WILL BE IN THE FRONT,” Yeojin proclaims. “Captain Marvel behind me and in front of Yeriana. Olivia and Nicki will follow.” 

None of them have any better idea, so they fall into that order just as the worker opens the curtain to let them inside the foggy, sinister circus tent.

Yeojin begins to shake like a caffeinated chihuahua, prompting Choerry to do most of the leading as they walk through spine-tingling displays. So far, nothing has jumped out at them.

Every eerie room has circus decor lining the walls. The group makes it past a caged grotesque muscle man and rabid bearded lady easily.  (Well, as easily as it could have gone with Yeojin whimpering and gripping onto Choerry’s arm for dear life.)

The next room has cage bars for walls, and the kids’ hearts beat in their throats as they look out to the long, narrow pathway they must get to the end of. They look to their sides and see nothing but emptiness behind the metal bars of the walls.

Reluctantly, they begin to embark across in the narrow walkway - and then, a million hands are suddenly shooting out all at once, clawing to grab them and bring them to the cage walls. Deafening zombie-like groans fill the air.

 _“AHHHHHHHHH! FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!”_ Yeojin sprints to the end at full speed as she violently drags Choerry behind her, the principal’s daughter screaming in fifteen pitches higher than they all thought her voice could even go. “I CAN’T DIE HERE! MRS. KIIIIM!” 

Chaewon screams and Hyejoo pulls the tiny blonde into her warm embrace to run them both to the end safely, looking like Nicki Minaj’s bodyguard in her all black attire. The four girls now at the end look to Yeri, who is still in the walkway.

“YERI! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?”

Yeri is spinning her high ponytail around in circles like a crack addict, as hands all reach out to grab her.

They yell at her to hurry up while Choerry nearly dies of laughter at the sight. Finally, Yeri runs to join them, and they all catch their breath at the end as the hands retract into their cages. 

When the girls continue their quest through the end of the house, they enter a pitch black room.

“I can’t see anything!” 

“Neither can Stevie Wonder bitch!” Choerry yells back randomly, and they all start erupting into laughter in the dark.

The fun ends when a blinding spotlight suddenly hits the center of the floor, illuminating a psychotic-looking jester smiles at them all menacingly through his exaggerated clumpy eyelashes. 

“Ooooh girl.” Chaewon criticizes the ugliness quietly, chuckling to herself. 

“Oh my God oh my GOD!” Yeojin yells, hiding herself in Yeri’s arm now. 

The jester cackles maniacally, then points to a cage where two actors dressed up as bloody lions attack each other in their cages. 

“IS THIS PLACE EVEN LEGIT? ARE YOU PEOPLE LICENSED?” Yeojin screams in fear.

“Hyejoo, that looks a bit like our moms.” Choerry admits, not even trying to make a joke, just stating a pure fact.

Everyone in the room is silent for what feels like the longest time, even the jester and other actors, until something unexpected happens. 

Hyejoo starts cackling so hard that she nearly tumbles over, hitting Choerry on the shoulder. “God they’re literally insane enough to be in here right?” Hyejoo asks through wheezes, making everyone laugh as well.

Suddenly, the jester screams and begins to charge towards them. 

 _“AHHHH!”_ They all scream, darting in different directions. The jester begins to corner Yeojin, while she screeches and tries to fake him out to no avail. “YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE I’M FROM BITCH! THE STREETS OF COMPTON HAVE ME ON THE RUN FROM THE FEDS! YOU FREAK, YOU DON’T KNOW ME!” 

“YOU LIVE IN HOLLYWOOD!” Yeri shrieks from the other end of the room.

“THE _SLUMS_ OF HOLLYWOOD!” Yeojin shouts back as the jester gets closer and closer to her. The jester begins to cackle again. “PEDOPHILE! PEDOPHILE! RAPE AND FIRE AND ISIS AND PEDOPHILE!” Yeojin yells, stopping the actor in his tracks as she runs to join her friends.

Yeojin grabs the rest of them at once, propelling them all to the exit of the giant room. Suddenly, she hears a large thud on the ground. It’s Yeri, who’s fallen hard on the floor.

“SAVE YOURSEEEEEEEELVES!” Yeri yells dramatically.

“GET YOUR ASS UP RIGHT NOW YERIANA, WE GOTTA GO.” Yeojin shrieks, still running until she notices that everyone stopped behind her.

Yeri’s eyes begin to roll back into her head, as suddenly she’s convulsing on the floor more violently than a blender at full speed. 

“OH MY GOD! IS SHE HAVING A SEIZURE?!” Choerry yells.

But Yeri’s eyes go back to the girls huddling around her. “I tripped… _INTO A GHOST!”_ Yeri says in a poor attempt at a demonic entity. 

“What.” Hyejoo says flatly. Chaewon is trying her hardest not to laugh at the clear act.

“WHAT THE FUCKKKKK! SOMEONE DO CPR!” Yeojin screams as she hides behind Choerry.

“How would CPR get a GHOST out of Yeri’s body?” Choerry turns to ask as Yeri starts flopping around on the floor more aggressively. 

“OH MY GOD SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE HER STOP.” Yeojin cries, tears beginning to roll down her face in horror. 

Hyejoo takes a step forward trying to whisper in Yeri’s ear. “Yeri, maybe stop now because I think she’s crying-”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,” Yeri ignores and screeches, using her demonic voice yet again as she spazzes out mercilessly on the floor.

“IS SHE GOING TO DIE?!” Yeojin is full on sobbing now. “YERI YOU HAVE TO STAY ALIVE. STAY ALIVE FOR OUR LITTLE BOY!” Yeojin screams like a maniac. 

Choerry leans over to Hyejoo and Chaewon in confusion. “What… Little boy?” 

Go Won Minaj shrugs. “Like I fucking know. I literally don’t know what she’s saying like 98% of the time.”

“I’M SO SORRY YERI. FOR EVERYTHING I’VE EVER DONE TO YOU. DON’T HAUNT ME PLEASE, I’M SO SORRY FOR KILLING YOUR HAMSTER IN THE FOURTH GRADE.” Yeojin covers her face in her hands in shame. 

“WHAT?” Yeri suddenly stops convulsing and speaks normally, sitting up. “YOU KILLED KE$HA?! WHAT THE HELL YEOJIN?”

“I THOUGHT I COULD TRAIN IT TO BE THE NEXT MUHAMMAD ALI,” The little girl sobs harder than anyone Choerry has ever seen. “HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW IT WOULD FLY OFF THE TREADMILL,” she wails, yanking her bald cap down in stress. 

Yeri huffs and dusts herself off, standing like nothing happened. “Fuck off dumb hoe! You owe me a new hamster!” 

“ANYTHING.” Yeojin hugs Yeri in glee seeing that she’s been successfully exorcised, and the girls continue to move to the next hallway. Choerry has no idea what she just watched.

At the end of this hallway is a singular man in a ticket booth. He smiles at them sinisterly as they walk down the long hallway to approach him, not blinking once.

“BLINK, BITCH!” Yeojin yells into the glass.

Behind his booth, the hallway splits into two tunnels on either side. Both tunnels are gated off and above them, bright neon signs are displayed. 

One reads **CLOWN AROUND** and the other, **ACROBAT MANIA.**

The booth runner slams his hands down on the desk in front of him. “These shows are almost sold out…” He says in a high-pitched voice, his Cheshire Cat smile more horrifying closer to the glass. Chaewon hides herself in Hyejoo’s chest. “Looks like you’ll have to split up…” he chuckles, before immediately changing his entire demeanor. “YOU TWO IN THE BACK,” he growls animalistically at Hyejoo and Chae. “Right this way!” he sing-songs. 

The two girls obey, and gulp as the gate to **ACROBAT MANIA** violently swings open.

Chaewon reaches for Hyejoo’s hand to intertwine their fingers, and Hyejoo has never been so glad for darkness in her life considering how intensely she’s blushing right now. Chaewon turns around fearfully. 

“We’ll see you at the end!” 

“We’ll see… NYAHAHAH!” The booth runner cackles and Yeri just scrunches her face in disgust, while Yeojin looks ready to piss her pants. The gate begins to close, and the two girls disappear, swallowed by the darkness. “Off you go!” he sings, as the gate to **CLOWN AROUND** swings open.

Yeojin can’t bring herself to move forward.

“Come on Yeojin,” Choerry whispers. “Clowning around um… You’re great at that!” 

“Did you just call me a clown.”

“GO!” The booth runner screams at them ruthlessly, and Yeri pushes them forward. The gate closes behind them.

Inside the tunnel, a blinding white strobe light is going off as an evil witch cackle plays from an unseen stereo system. The walls are giving off an illusion of movement, as if the wallpaper is melting away.

Yeojin’s violent shaking is about to cause another earthquake in the state of California, so Choerry hesitantly rubs a hand over her arm. “Hey… My moms always told me that singing helps when you’re scared… Maybe that will help you?”

“Choerry as much as I am a whore for both of your mothers that is the stupidest fucking shit I’ve ever-”

The sound of a clown’s maniacal laugh screams through the overhead speakers suddenly.

 _“SHE TAKE MY MONEEEEEY!”_ A high-pitched Yeojin suddenly breaks into song.

 _“When I’m in neeEEeeEed!”_ Yeri finishes with a calm smile, eyes closed as she harmonizes in perfect pitch. She nudges Yeojin and they move forward.

“Yeojin, you sound even better in person than on your mixtape!”

Yeojin stops dead in her tracks. “You… You listened to my mixtape?” she asks Choerry in complete shock.

Choerry nods, having done her research. “Oh yeah! You and Chae’s! To be honest I was a little afraid because it’s like, not my type of music. But I thought it was actually really good! I think _Jesus Christ Ghetto Superstar_ is your best song. Followed closely by _Type 2Chainz Diabetes_.”

Yeojin’s heart warms, and she smiles endearingly to herself in the dark.

Once they are finally out of the tunnel, the strobe light subsides, leaving them in a dimly lit room. There are multiple clown figures filling the large room, blocking the way to the exit. Some are mannequins, some are dolls, and some are...

“HAHAHAHAHA!” A real clown jumps out in front of Yeojin.

 _“AHHHHHHH!”_ Yeojin shrieks, suddenly whipping out a police force taser and electrifying the actor, sending him to the ground as he jerks around from the shock. Choerry and Yeri gasp in horror, and so does every other clown actor in the room, breaking character.

“YOU HAVE A _TASER?”_ Yeri shrieks from behind her.

“MY MOM GAVE IT TO ME.” Yeojin says, still holding the industrial grade weapon in her hand, unafraid.

“A TASER?!”

“MY MOM INHALES A BUCKET OF CRACK EVERY DAY BEFORE SHE COMES TO WORK!” 

“Wait really that’s kinda cool-”

“NO YERI SHE’S A FUCKING LOSER!” 

Choerry takes them both by the arms to run them all out of the room before they get into deep trouble. “PLEASE DON’T SUE MY FRIEND! SHE’S JUST STUPID!” She yells behind her, cringing at the poor man collapsed on the floor as the other actors rush to help.

“You’ll be hearing from my lawyers. This is actual harassment.” Yeojin says, the words being muffled slightly by Choerry’s warm shoulder. 

“Yeojin I think if anyone’s getting charged with harassment, it isn’t him.” Choerry chuckles out. Yeri laughs, and Choerry can hear Yeojin laughing quietly too. 

The girls can finally see the end of the house, a sign marked exit hangs over the door, but a man with a juggling multiple functioning chainsaws in front of the door.

“HOW IS THIS A REAL PLACE?!” Yeojin cries. “Okay you know what guys? I’m done being scared. I will break a bottle on this bitch’s head at a moment’s notice. Fact.”

But when she tries to step forward, the man begins to chase her.

And finally, after five to seven minutes straight of Yeojin screaming and running around everywhere except the exit, the girls finally make their way through to the open air.

Right outside the haunted house’s exit, Hyejoo and Chaewon are already waiting for them, the tinier of the two still snug in the other’s chest as they hug to keep warm just like the other high school couples behind them. (Hyejoo’s having a great night; this is definitely one for the books.)

“You won’t believe what we just went through.” Chaewon says, laughing to release some of the stress she was clearly just under.

“Ours wasn’t that sca-.” Yeojin says, but jumps before she can finish her sentence as the chainsaw man pops his head out of the door, revving up a chainsaw. Yeojin starts sprinting away.

“Don’t run! That only makes them-” Choerry starts but before she can get out the final words, the chainsaw man is chasing Yeojin around the parking lot. She’s running like a maniac around cars and screaming so loud you’d think she was actually being split in two.

They may have only just finished the first house, but Choerry already thinks that this is the best Halloween she’s ever had.

***

“They were literally crawling on the floor, like breaking their legs and shit. It was so scary.” 

The group of eighth graders had just finished their third haunted house now. Hours had gone by filled with Yeojin’s terrified screams, Hyejoo and Chaewon looking ever so coupley, Choerry thrilled as ever, and Yeri flinging her ponytail around looking like a helicopter. Yeojin had long since lost her bald cap; she’d thrown the sweaty flap at one of the actors as bait. 

In the chilly night air, the girls huddle at a small lounging area where one could buy beverages and other fall-themed snacks. 

Chaewon takes a sip of her hot chocolate. “You guys are so lucky you didn’t have to see it.”

“I don’t know, watching Yeojin tase a clown was pretty traumatizing,” Choerry remarks, making the other girls laugh.

“ENOUGH!” Yeojin huffs into her drink, long chocolate colored hair resting messily on her chest. 

“Why do you carry a _taser?!_ Remind me to never piss you off again,” Hyejoo scoffs.

“I asked for it for five Christmases straight.” Yeojin answers matter-of-factly. “You don’t know the struggle of asking for a taser and then opening up the box to see a fucking $40 gift certificate to Long John Silvers.”

“Who the fuck asks for a taser for Christmas?” Chaewon teases.

“YOUR MOM ASKS FOR MY TASER FOR CHRISTMAS!” Yeojin retorts. “Oh God not Ms. Wong. Sorry queen.” The principal’s daughter then does the sign of the cross reverently.

Chaewon perks her head up from her laughter. “Hey, should we be out here this long?” She looks up at Choerry. “I don’t want your mom to be waiting so long for us.” 

“Umm,” Choerry says, fiddling with her cup and not wanting to cause any trouble for them. “She said it was fine for us to be here? Plus, I think she’s taking a nap in the car anyway.”

“We should get her a snack or something!” Yeri kindly suggests, already taking her wallet out of her oversized sweater’s pocket.

“I have one dollar left, but…” Yeojin pulls it out of her suit pocket. “I would _love_ to spend my last dollar on her.”

“Gross.” Hyejoo says, opening up her wallet. “Okay, I have a few dollars left.”

Chaewon takes some leftover cash she was storing in Hyejoo’s pocket, then reaches to collect everyone’s money that they hold out. “Think this will be enough?” Chaewon asks, adding a few more dollars into the mix and handing them to Choerry. “You should probably go, you’d know what she’d like.”

And Choerry needs to take a second to let this sink in.

Her old friends barely cared enough to say thank you to _her_ when she did things for them, much less to her mother. She looks up at all of girls who look to her awaitingly, refreshed at the fact that she’s with friends who think of someone other than themselves for once.

“Sure,” Choerry smiles brightly, despite the fatigue of being out past midnight. “I’ll be right back!”

***

When the girls get closer to the minivan with a hot cocoa and bag of fresh pumpkin cookies, Yeojin snatches the snacks into her hands wordlessly and runs up to the window. She taps gently on the glass as to startle the love of her life as little as possible.

Jungeun wakes from her heavy slumber to the noise, and rubs her eyes with the pads of her fingers. Sitting up, she finds Yeojin smiling widely right at her behind the window, and she shifts uncomfortably.

The mom opens her door to the middle schoolers who are all crowded around. “What are you guys doing?” she asks, confused.

“Mrs. Kim, we’d like to thank you for your courageous, valiant efforts in chauffeuring us around tonight.” Yeojin hands her the pumpkin cookies. “You’ve done a splendid job, and we all pitched in to get you a little gift. Mostly me though.”

Jungeun blinks. “You got me cookies?” She really cannot believe her eyes. Based on the past friends Choerry has had over, she didn’t even think middle schoolers cared about anything other than celebrity gossip and school drama.

“And a hot chocolate too.” Yeri says from the back of the group as Choerry approaches her mom with a white paper cup. “We’ve had so much fun, and you’re really cool Mrs. Kim.”

Jungeun’s heart swells up as she accepts the hot chocolate from her daughter. 

“Thank you guys,” Jungeun smiles appreciatively takes a sip from her drink and instantly feels warmer, relieving her from at least a tiny bit of the stress she’s been under all day, hell, all week. “This is very, very sweet.”

“Not as sweet as you, Mrs. Kiiiiim,” Yeojin winks and Jungeun rolls her eyes, but she can’t help but chuckle. 

“Alright girls, get in the car; we have two more houses to cover still!” Jungeun says with  newfound enthusiasm. 

The girls cheer and find their seats as Jungeun turns up the stereo, starting up the car to take them to their next destination.

***

“Chae,” Jungeun hears her goddaughter whisper to the sleepy girl next to her.

The group was finally all screamed out for the night, just departing from their final haunted house and being driven to their respective homes.

“Mm?” Go Won Minaj stirs, and lifts her head up from Hyejoo’s shoulder.

“I got you a souvenir,” the taller girl says.

Jungeun looks to her rear view mirror to see Hyejoo digging for something in her back pocket. Finally, Hyejoo pulls a small pin in plastic wrap out of her pocket and holds it up to Chaewon.

“The ghost pin I wanted!” Chaewon squeals with wide eyes. “Oli, you didn’t have to get this for me… I told you I didn’t have enough…” The tiny blonde looks up at the other girl with soft eyes.

“That’s okay, you really wanted it,” Hyejoo smiles shyly, taking Chae’s hand to place the wrapped pin in her palm. 

“She got that MILF money…” Yeojin interjects quietly.

“Plus, I still owe you from picture day…” Hyejoo suddenly looks down at her feet.

“Hey…” Chaewon tilts her head so that she’s back in Hyejoo’s eyesight. “I already told you I forgive you.” She rubs Hyejoo’s shoulder reassuringly. “It was an accident Oli, you were just really annoyed-”

“But that doesn’t excuse me snapping at you, Chae,” Hyejoo says quietly. “I should have talked about it with you instead of shouting at you.” She looks up with a gentle, apologetic gaze.

Jungeun’s breath hitches at the younger girl’s words. She has no idea what happened with them on Picture Day, but all she knows is that it sounds awfully familiar.

_Well, shit._

Jungeun can’t shake the fact that she left her wife crying at the kitchen counter.

God, she’d said some awful things. She never even planned on yelling at Jinsol the way she did. But she’d just had a terrible day, and wanted to tell her those things for a while anyway.

_“But that doesn’t excuse me snapping at you.”_

Guilt begins to set in heavily on Jungeun’s shoulders. 

Sure, she’d wanted to tell her those things for a while now, but that’s what she realizes she should have done. _Told_ her, in an adult way, like a real married couple. And instead she just screamed, cried, and accused, disregarding any thoughts Jinsol may have had on the matter. 

Her heart begins to sink, like an anchor thrown into the sea.

“Hey married couple in the back seat! Can you stop being so LOUD. Some of us are trying to fall asleep to the art that is ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ and I can’t HEAR IT with you guys writing love notes to each other in my ear,” Yeojin says and sighs dramatically. 

She turns back around towards the front, closing her eyes to connect with the music. Hyejoo and Chaewon, clearly embarrassed from the outburst, go quiet - but Jungeun swears she can see them holding hands in the mirror before she brings her eyes back to the road.

After ten to twenty more minutes of driving, the three girls have finally joined a snoring Yeri in slumber. Yeojin is curled up on her side, looking a lot smaller than she already is. Chaewon is perfectly snuggled into Hyejoo’s side, as the raven-haired girl rests her head on top of the other. 

“Choerry,” Jungeun whispers in the dark. “Are you sure they’re not dating?”

 _“RIGHT?!”_ Choerry shrieks noisily, nearly waking up everyone in the car. 

“Shhh!” Jungeun smiles as she reflects on the fun night’s events. “So,” she says, looking back briefly at her child. “Why have you never hung out with these girls before? Or brought them over to the house?” 

In her peripheral, she can see Choerry nervously playing with her hands. “I… I don’t know. They’ve never talked to me before. And I’ve never really talked to them before.”

“But?” Jungeun prods quietly, raising her eyebrows.

“But... I don’t know. We got put into a group at the aquarium and just kind of... kept talking.” Choerry tries to keep her cool, but her eyes are beaming as she looks out onto the road. “Even though Mom was trying _way_ too hard on that field trip…” Her eighth grader deadpans. “I probably wouldn’t have hung out with them as much if she was being normal.” 

Jungeun is once again reminded of Jinsol. Of course her wife could be… unusual when it came to her limitless passion for science, _especially_ at her aquarium. But her heart was always in the right place.

The CFO’s guilt from earlier only increases, and she knows now for sure that this is something she must fix.

But she just nods at her daughter’s words. “Well, I like these girls. A lot.”

Choerry looks back at all her… friends (?) sleeping in the back, and smiles at them with a full heart. “I do too.”

***

It’s 3 AM when Jungeun and Choerry finally arrive at their own home. After parking the minivan, Jungeun turns around from the driver’s seat, and sees her daughter fast asleep.

Jungeun gets out of the car to renter the crisp night air, and opens the door next to Choerry. She gently calls her name to wake her up. “We’re home,” Jungeun says, but Choerry just whines sleepily and curls into herself. “I’m gonna leave you in this car.” Jungeun threatens. The eighth grader appears to be completely unbothered by the idea.

Jungeun sighs, unbuckling her daughter’s seatbelt, then scoops the sleeping girl into her arms while mumbling something about how spoiled she is. She’s already in eighth grade; one of these days Jungeun is seriously going to break her back.

When they enter, the house is virtually pitch black. Jungeun uses only the glowing blue light from the immense fish tank as she carries Choerry up their spiral staircase. 

Despite the darkness of the corridor, Jungeun can of course still locate her daughter’s bedroom, and walks to the center of the large room to tuck Choerry into bed. Choerry, through her sleepy daze, still thanks her mom sincerely, and they exchange goodnight’s and I love you’s before Jungeun exits.

As the brunette is coming out though, she hears strange noises at the end of the pitch black corridor. 

She pauses and stops breathing to listen in, starting to fear that she’s going to be the star of the next haunted house story. It is Halloween night, after all. But the fear quickly dies when she recognizes a familiar voice singing… Miley Cyrus.

Jungeun follows the voice down one hallway to the next.

Suddenly, she notices light coming through the cracks of their guest room’s door. 

She brings her ear close to the door to hear hushed sniffles and singing along to a song she’s heard before playing from the TV. 

Jungeun ever so carefully opens the door to see Jinsol in a fetal position on their guest bed in her pajamas, staring at the TV as the credits to Nicholas Sparks’ _The Last Song_ roll, oblivious to her wife’s presence. The blonde cuddles a white pillow tight in her arms, singing, but crying quietly. A tub of chocolate ice cream sits in front of her. 

Jungeun’s heart is crushed. While she’d been out actually having fun with the kids, Jinsol was crying like this entire time.

Reluctantly, Jungeun clears her throat from the doorway. Jumping from her position, startled and terrified, Jinsol begins to scramble around the bed like someone just poured ice water on her. 

After a few awkward moments, Jinsol stands, and looks at Jungeun with visibly puffy eyes from hours of crying.

“Hi,” Jungeun says nervously.

“Umm…” Jinsol starts, voice warped from her stuffy nose. “Hi.” 

“Why are you in the guest room?” Jungeun asks, softening. 

Her wife looks at her with teary eyes. “I didn’t want to make you more upset.” She croaks out truthfully.

“Jinsol, I-”

“Please just leave me alone.” Jinsol says, and it sounds absolutely empty. She doesn’t actually want Jungeun to go... But she knows she doesn’t deserve it if Jungeun stays.

The CEO moves to turn off the TV without another word. Jungeun steps closer. “Jinsol, it’s okay,” she comforts impulsively.

“It’s not okay,” Jinsol responds coldly and suddenly, voice breaking. “I know you’re only saying that because you’re seeing me like this. It’s not okay. It hasn’t been okay for a long time. I know that now. So please, please don’t pity me.” her wife says, full of guilt. “Just get some rest now, Jungeun. Don’t worry about me.”

Jinsol puts aside the ice cream tub on the circular bedside table, and pulls open the thick white duvet to climb into bed. In her peripheral, she sees Jungeun walk back to the door, and is grateful that the CFO is finally going to get some sleep. 

But Jinsol’s brows crinkle in confusion at the sight of Jungeun merely turning off the light and coming back, proceeding to take off her coat and strip other articles of clothing in the darkness.

“What are you doing?” Jinsol asks, half-covered by the blankets as Jungeun walks to the bed’s opposite side. “Why aren’t you sleeping in our bed?”

“Jinsol, we both know we won’t be able to sleep in a half-empty bed.” 

 _“...Fine.”_ Jinsol says, turning over and facing the other direction while her wife gets comfortable, and Jungeun can’t help but think she just sounds like a little baby.

There is no light in the room except the moon’s, faintly streaming in from above the sea through the guest room’s glass walls. As they lay in bed so far apart, the silence is deafening.

Jungeun looks over to see Jinsol’s back, and she’s curled into herself, facing away. Judging by her breathing, Jinsol seems to be too stiff to possibly relax into sleep anytime soon.

Even though Jungeun is practically running on empty, she knows she won’t be able to rest either until this conflict is resolved.

Jungeun scoots closer to her wife, and puts a hesitant hand on her arm. “Sol…” Jinsol remains tense. So Jungeun comes closer until there’s no distance between them, spooning the taller woman, snaking an arm around her midsection. “...I’m sorry,” she whispers, cuddling the warm body of her other half.

“...It’s my fault.” Jinsol says quietly. “You shouldn’t be apologizing at all.” 

Jungeun nuzzles into her, and inhales her ever-present scent of fresh linens and happy memories, soothing her in a way only her wife could. “I don’t care if it’s your fault. I should’ve talked to you about this instead of yelling at you.” Jungeun admits softly.  

Jinsol is still quiet. Jungeun carefully moves her blonde hair away with one hand, and plants comforting kisses at the nape of her neck. But under her touch, she feels that Jinsol is still, for the most part, tense.

“Jinsol…” She lifts herself a little with the arm not around her wife. “Look at me, please…” Jungeun begs.

And Jungeun notices Jinsol’s shoulders start to shake.

“I t-thought-” Jinsol is crying quietly, and can barely get the words out. “I t-thought you were g-going to leave me,” she says, voice breaking. 

“What?” Jungeun says, hovering over Jinsol, taken aback.

“You were so mad at me… and… you said,” Jinsol’s adjusted to look up at her now through blurry, tear-filled vision, and is fighting gasps. “You said you couldn’t do this anymore,” Jinsol says, shaking her head through tears. 

Jungeun’s heart shatters at the realization.

“Oh my God,” Jungeun says, suddenly overcome with guilt. “I didn’t mean it like that - Oh Jinsol…” As she leans on one arm, she brings her other hand to Jinsol’s wet cheek. She brushes away some stray strands of blonde hair that are sticking to it with the utmost care. “Baby, look at me.”

Jinsol keeps shaking her head with shut eyes, but Jungeun is patient, stroking a thumb gently over her wet cheek and asking her again. She finally opens them.

“I _am_ mad at you,” Jungeun says honestly. “But I would never, _ever_ leave you Jinsol,” she says, every word filled to the brim with emotion because of how imperative it is that Jinsol knows her truth. “You are the love of my life,” Jungeun says with conviction. “Never in a million years would I walk away from you.”

Jinsol just cries harder, and Jungeun pulls her into her arms to hold her as tight as she possibly can. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Jinsol repeats, as the sadness in each time brings tears to Jungeun’s eyes. “I keep making everything worse,” she cries, thinking of Choerry, Jungeun, everything these past few months. “I didn’t- I swear I don’t mean to be so clueless and inconsiderate and... I’m so, _so_ sorry I’ve been hurting you Jungeun,” Jinsol sobs uncontrollably in her wife’s arms, panicked, and clings onto the light of her life like she’s about to disappear.

“Shhh, baby,” Jungeun whispers to calm her love down, running her fingers through Jinsol’s blonde hair, burying her head in the crook of Jinsol’s neck. “I’m here, I’m not going anywhere okay?” she reassures with all the love in the world. “I’m right here…” she soothes. 

They stay connected in the dark for a while, Jungeun holding Jinsol together as she falls apart in her arms. Jungeun murmurs words of love into her ear, keeping her steady, and feels tears streaming down her own cheeks as well from hearing Jinsol’s panicked sobs.

(They’ve both always been the biggest softies.)

Ever so carefully, Jungeun reclines back onto the pillows of the guest bed, still holding her wife, who has settled down into just quiet sniffles and gasps.

Jinsol raises her head to look into her eyes as they both rest on the bed. “Jungeun,” she says, even more congested than before. “I’ll-”

“No,” Jungeun stops her mid-sentence. “Let’s talk tomorrow okay? Please just sleep baby,” 

 _“You sleep!”_ Jinsol practically shrieks, and starts sobbing all over again.

 _Lord,_ Jungeun muses, and she can’t help but giggle just a bit. 

“Stop laughing at me!” Jinsol cries like a baby, and Jungeun just cups her face and leans in to press a sweet kiss to her cheek. “You haven’t even - Oh God, it’s 3AM and you haven’t even been sleeping,” Jinsol sobs. 

Jungeun sighs. She has a point, and all the fatigue is starting to catch up to her again. “Okay, okay, I’ll sleep. But only if you sleep too, alright?” Jungeun compromises, gingerly tucking some blonde hair behind Jinsol’s ear. 

“Okay,” Jinsol says in a tiny voice, and clears her throat as if to regain composure. “In a bit.” 

The CEO takes a few more deep breaths, then peels herself out of Jungeun’s arms to lay next to her. Jinsol looks to the ceiling in the darkness. Eventually, she’s able to take deep, self-calming breaths with closed eyes.

Then, she turns to see Jungeun already looking at her in the moonlight. And in her loving gaze lies uncertainty, yet budding hope.

Jungeun herself knows only time will tell if her wife changes. But there’s something in the way Jinsol is looking at her, the new understanding in her eyes, that makes her think that maybe things _have_ finally turned around, for the better.

“...Can I hold you now?” Jinsol asks sweetly. 

Jungeun blushes and turns away on her side, and Jinsol snuggles up to her back with an arm around her. 

 _“The Last Song?_ Really?” Jungeun giggles.

“You know I don’t like scary movies,” Jinsol says in a small voice. Jinsol didn’t think it would be the best idea to watch a scary movie home alone. At the devil’s hour. On Halloween night.

“Because you’re a big baby,” Jungeun hums.

 _“Go to sleep!”_ Jinsol whines, with the authority of a three-year old. She pulls her smirking wife even closer to her chest.

And after the longest day imaginable, Jungeun finally begins to relax in the arms of her favorite person.

But before she lets herself fall asleep, Jungeun searches for Jinsol’s hand in the darkness. Once she finds it, she raises it to her lips. “I’m so sorry I yelled at you,” she says, drowsy but sincere.

“I needed to know,” Jinsol whispers. She hates the fact that the whirlwind of her career had made her so aloof, so completely indifferent with those she loves the most yet again. Putting herself in Jungeun’s shoes, she knows she’s probably deserved it. “I’m sorry for everything, sweetheart.”

Jungeun murmurs something laced with sleep that Jinsol can’t quite make out. “Hmm?”

“Take out… the fucking trash…” Jungeun mumbles, half-awake. “And I want… my creamer.” 

“Of course my love.” Jinsol kisses the top of her head from behind. “Anything you need,” she smiles, and makes a mental note to do it first thing in the morning… along with a few other things.

And finally, in Jinsol’s safe embrace, Jungeun falls asleep.

***

She wakes to her 6AM alarm. 

Opening her eyes just a crack to the dark room, Jungeun is thrown for a loop when she realizes she is hearing the familiar gentle flow of the waterfall pool connected to the master bedroom.

She peels away the comforter to see that she is indeed no longer in the guest room, and instead in her and Jinsol’s main bedroom. 

 _Did she… carry me?_ It wouldn’t be the first time Jinsol carried her; despite her lithe build, she was much stronger than she appeared. But regardless of how many times it’s happened before, the thought still makes Jungeun blush. And unless the entirety of last night was some fever dream, that seems to be the only explanation. 

Jungeun feels weak from only three hours of sleep, but, like always, she does her best to push fatigue down as she starts to sit up. She shivers at the morning cold. It’s taken years of self-discipline to not allow herself five more minutes.

Before she pushes the covers aside though, she hears the door between their walk-in closet and bedroom open. Jinsol pads through quietly, freshly showered and dressed ready for a casual outing. She doesn’t seem to notice Jungeun is awake.

“Hi,” Jungeun whispers sleepily as the light streams in from the open door. 

Jinsol looks to her wife, and walks over with an apologetic expression. “Oh no… Did I wake you up?” 

“What…” Jungeun asks, realizing how odd this situation is; Jinsol is always fast asleep at this hour. “What is going on?” 

“I’m taking her to school,” Jinsol whispers, sitting on Jungeun’s edge of the bed. 

_“What?”_

“I’m taking her to school,” Jinsol repeats calmly, and cups her sleepy wife’s cheek. “Get some rest baby,” she smiles at Jungeun, who just looks back at her, nothing short of stunned.

“I also made us all breakfast,” Jinsol continues. “It’s downstairs in the microwave. I know you don’t like crumbs in the bed, otherwise I would have brought it to you.” 

Jungeun can feel her heart absolutely glowing in her chest at the acts of service from her wife. When was the last time she got to sleep in on a weekday? She can’t even remember.  Without having to take Choerry to school, she won’t have to be ready for work for another few hours!

“Go back to sleep sweetheart,” Jinsol says, taking some of the duvet and covering her beloved up with it again. “I’m gonna run some errands after, okay? I’ll see you when you get home.” She can’t stop the smile spreading across her face at the sight of Jungeun happily snuggling back into their sheets.

But before Jinsol stands, Jungeun reaches out from under the blankets to take her wife’s hand in hers. “Thank you…” she says, so very gratefully. 

Jinsol leans down to give Jungeun a warm kiss on her forehead. “I’ll see you later, my sleeping beauty,” and Jungeun giggles at her corniness. “Rest up. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Jungeun says, opening her eyes to look at her wife appreciatively as she says it. “Be safe,” she says through a yawn, and curls back into the blankets, soothed by the warmth and the ambient noise from their waterfall.

“I will,” she hears Jinsol say, and with that, Jungeun is out like a light once again.

***

“Um, why are you down here?” 

Jinsol looks up from her phone to see her daughter coming down the staircase with her pink Kanken, energetic and ready to go despite only having four hours of sleep. 

“Where’s mom.” The eighth grader asks flatly, unamused with the surprise in front of her.

“I’m taking you today.” Jinsol says, spinning her car keys in her hand. “I made you pancakes,” she gestures to the dining room table. Sure enough, there’s a pretty plate made for Choerry of pancakes, eggs, sliced strawberries, and bacon next to a full glass of orange juice. 

“I don’t like pancakes anymore.” Choerry says defiantly.

Jinsol leans back on the kitchen island, staring at her child with raised eyebrows. “Well, what do you like now?” 

“Mom takes me to Starbucks.” 

 _Jeez,_ Jinsol thinks to herself, _Jungeun needs that much coffee?_ “You prefer Starbucks every morning over your favorite food in the world?” 

“Things change,” Choerry snaps back cooly. She doesn’t look Jinsol in the eye. 

But she sets her bag down and looks up through her eyelashes to just see Jinsol just smiling softly at her. “I’ll wait in the car.” Jinsol takes her purse and walks out of their spacious common area. “Take your time,” she tells her, before exiting the house.

Choerry enters their dining room and turns on a few more hanging lights to illuminate the room. The sky is still dark outside, and she stretches and looks at the appetizing plate in front of her as she takes a seat. She reluctantly pours some of the syrup sitting next to her, and slices a bite. 

As much as she wished with every fiber of her being that they didn’t… As Yeojin would say, the pancakes absolutely slap. And so does everything else on the plate. 

Choerry vows to never admit it out loud, but she is loving this a lot more than a Starbucks blueberry muffin. 

***

Jinsol wakes from her power nap to Choerry opening the backseat door of the Tesla. The chilly morning air gusts into the vehicle, and Jinsol fiddles with the display panel to crank the heater. They buckle their seatbelts.

“Ready?” the CEO asks, turning around to her daughter, but catches Choerry looking around the sleek, futuristic car in amazement. 

It hits Jinsol then, just how rarely Choerry is ever in her car.

“Yeah,” Choerry nods with a toothless smile. 

“Do you want to play your music?”

Choerry widens her eyes. She knows her mom is just kissing up, but still. _“Really?”_ she asks in pleasant surprise. 

“Yeah, why not?” Jinsol looks at her in the rear-view mirror.

The eighth grader smiles a bit nervously. “Um… Mom doesn’t let me play my music in the morning.”

Jinsol chuckle from the front, putting on her favorite Prada shades. “And why is that?” 

“She says,” Choerry does a deep voice, _“I need my peace and quiet.”_  

They both giggle together at the impression of Jungeun, and Jinsol’s heart blooms as Choerry’s smile shines bright on her face.

“Of course you can play your music.” The mother taps through the panel to pair Choerry’s phone to the stereo, and turns the volume up a little. 

“Thanks mom.” 

_Mom._

With a smile, Jinsol drives them out of the house, as the morning sun begins to rise on the ocean beside them. 

***

When Choerry looks out into the bustling cafeteria for the first time since she’s felt her entire world change, she can’t help the automatic first steps she takes to her usual table by the largest window.

Nayeon sits with a blank expression, indifferent as she paints her nails. Chad is attempting to eat five pizza slices at once. Jeongyeon, in front of him, chants “CHOKE, CHOKE, CHOKE.” Dahyun is, well…

“Whaddup Dahyunators! Welcome to my vlog!”

...being Dahyun.

But before she’s even a quarter of the way there -

“UNIQUA FROM _THE BACKYARDIGANS!_ IS THAT YOU!” 

Choerry turns to the far end of the cafetorium to see Yeojin calling out to her, Chaewon, Hyejoo, and Yeri waiting right beside her. 

The building is noisy, the intensifying simultaneous conversations of all topics and frequencies clouding Choerry’s senses, but looking over at the group she’d adventured with, she’s able to make out the mouthing of three words as Yeojin yells out across the room.

_Sit with us._

Choerry stops to stare in shock for a little bit, for what feels like the millionth time at the group who will never stop surprising her. 

And then, she smiles.

Hyejoo yells at her to hurry up. The student body president is finally bounding across the room, away from the largest window. Away from where she belongs, but knows so deeply in her heart that she does not. 

While Choerry quickly paces to join them, Yeojin turns at the sight of her mother and Ms. Wong walking her way, engrossed in some humorous conversation, their own lunches in hand as they simply pass through the cafetorium to get to some destination elsewhere on campus.

Yeojin stares at her mother, eyebrows raised and a smug smile on her face. 

Principal Haseul laughs hard at something Ms. Wong says, then catches a glimpse of Yeojin, who then proceeds to flick her tongue around obscenely. 

The principal turns beet red with wide eyes. She just raises her hand to the side of her face as a barrier to block eye contact between her and her daughter, while Yeojin chuckles discreetly at their little secret. 

Then, Choerry is in front of them, and they’re walking to the patio with their lunches all together once again.

“Welcome to our tax bracket,” Yeojin greets with a proud smile, and they all walk to the cafeteria’s exit together.

Meanwhile, Jeongyeon looks over Chad’s head at the sight of bright purple hair in her peripheral, walking with a new group of girls out the door.

“Nayeon,” she calls quietly, still looking at them. “...I think we’re being replaced.” 

But when Jeongyeon looks to her for a response, she sees Nayeon glaring at them, furious eyes already trained on their backs as they walk away. 

***

Twenty minutes into a lunch full of hard laughs, bad staff impressions, and tomfoolery, Choerry eats comfortably and happily from the seat she’s spent weeks staring at from the inside. 

“Hey, Choerry,” Yeojin starts, clearing her throat after a particularly long laughing fit to speak seriously. “I can take down the video, if you want.” 

Choerry furrows her brows, tilting her head. “What video?” 

“You know. Milf Smackdown. Hyejoo says it’s fine. But if you want, I can delete it.” Yeojin offers considerately.

The purple-haired eighth grader blinks for a few seconds. Having the video taken down would be less embarrassing for her. Then again… It’s definitely more embarrassing for their mothers. And they _definitely_ deserve that.

“Nah,” she smiles. “And take away your internet fame? I’ll pass.”

Yeojin gives her a crooked smile, and nods endearingly.

Chaewon giggles and raises a clenched fist. “Long live Lil Peni$!”

***

Many hours later, Jungeun comes home. 

She opens their front door to find her wife sitting snug on their couch watching another documentary on marine life on the living room TV. On the coffee table in front of her are Thai take-out containers that Jungeun recognizes with a smile to be from her beloved favorite place.

Jinsol turns to meet Jungeun’s eyes, and says “Hi” with such a cute grin it makes Jungeun blush when she returns the greeting. 

The CFO herself is definitely in a happier, more energetic mood than usual. (Jinsol notices this, and she watches the skip in Jungeun’s step with endless love.)

As Jungeun takes off her black blazer and sets it on one of their loveseats, she notices that all the containers of food are untouched. “Are you… waiting for me?” Jungeun asks, melting.

“Yeah,” she answers from the living room with a smile. “I was going to cook dinner, but Choerry called me a fire hazard after my third try at chicken parmesan. But I promise to learn! So I got you Thai, your favorite.” 

Even though Jungeun nearly popped a vein to get this kind of treatment, her wife’s thoughtful gestures still fill her heart to the brim. There’s nothing like your favorite food with your wife after a busy day. “Thank you honey,” she says appreciatively.

Jungeun opens their fridge for a drink to find it bountifully stocked with new groceries. But her eyes immediately go to the shelf she uses the most, which has now been cleared out to make room for ten new bottles of coffee creamer. 

Jungeun is smiling so hard that a happy cheer involuntarily escapes her throat.

Jinsol, still watching the fish swim the ocean blue, smiles knowingly. 

Making her way back to the living room with some water, Jungeun takes a seat next to her favorite person on the couch and snuggles up to her, resting her head on Jinsol’s shoulder. 

“How was your daaay,” Jinsol sings as she kisses the top of her wife’s head. 

“It was so great. I got to sleep in… I had the best breakfast I’ve had in so long, I get my favorite food for dinner…” Jungeun leans in closer to Jinsol’s lips for a kiss, closing her eyes. “And the best part is… I get to come home to-” 

“Me,” Jinsol blurts out involuntarily, closing her eyes for a kiss.

“Ten coffee creamers!” Jungeun can’t even bring herself to kiss Jinsol because of her happy giggling. “Why would you get so many?” 

“I don’t know how fast you go through them!” Jinsol laughs. “And I didn’t wanna keep forgetting to get you new ones. I just know that you finish them fast.” Jinsol leans in to kiss her forehead. “Hopefully not so much anymore,” she adds. “Can I show you something I made today?” 

Jungeun nods at her side, and Jinsol mutes the documentary and reaches over to a small side table to retrieve her MacBook. Opening the laptop, she enlarges a calendar. The CFO looks to her wife, who looks a bit nervous to show her this for some reason. 

“Why are all these days blue?” Jungeun observes. “They’re blue for…” she taps the touchpad a little. “...Over two months?”

“So… I made us a family calendar.” Jinsol says, looking at her wife, who sits pleasantly shocked. 

“I’m blue, you’re red,” Jinsol continues. “They’re all blue because... I’m going to be taking Choerry to school and picking her up every day for the rest of my time off.” 

Jungeun’s blinks hard. She turns to look at Jinsol in shock.

Jinsol still clicks away. “So this way, I’ll get to spend a lot more time with her. She kind of tried to ignore me in the car this morning, but we she told me a bit about her day on the way home, so I think we’re getting somewhere!” She chuckles. “Also, these little blue dots here are our grocery trips. I’ve got all of those covered too, all the way until I go back to work.”

Jinsol looks to her wife, who is now staring at the computer with wide eyes. She’s speechless. 

Jungeun doesn’t say a word as she clicks through the calendar on Jinsol’s lap. The CEO isn’t sure whether or not that’s a good thing. But she stays quiet too, letting Jungeun review at her own pace.

“What are those?” Jungeun finally inquires. She points to all Friday nights, which all have the emojis of a blue heart and a red heart next to each other. 

“Movie nights! Every Friday. We’ll rent something and stay in, just like we used to, remember?” Jinsol says, referring to a tradition from long long ago when she wasn’t yet Jinsol Kim, CEO, but just Jinsol Jung, dating a very pretty girl. 

“Or we can go out. Just the two of us,” Jinsol supplements. “Whatever you want,” she says with a smile.

Jungeun is still quiet, and it makes Jinsol nervous. Little does she know Jungeun is just trying to make sure that this isn’t a dream. 

“I want to spend time with our daughter,” Jinsol continues, “But time for us is also important,” and Jungeun really, really hopes Jinsol can’t see her tearing up. For the past years, they were lucky to have a single meaningful, longer conversation during most weeks, as work always gave them conflicting schedules and all-too frequent nights where they’d come home to the other already asleep. “So… movie nights are also on the calendar. You have time to talk to me, and I have time to listen.”  

Jinsol looks to her wife, who has teary eyes and opens her mouth to something. “I’m not done,” Jinsol says with a soft smile. 

The CEO taps the touchpad to take them further in time to the later months of the new year, unexplored by Jungeun. The weekdays are now half blue and half red, alternating in pattern each day like dominoes. “This is when I go back to work again,” Jinsol points to a day that kicks off the alternation. “When I go back, we’ll switch with mornings and afternoons. And I made a little program here,” Jinsol gestures to the side, “That connects the family calendar to our work calendars. So, if something for work from either of us might interfere, it can automatically switch the car trips around in a more convenient way. But we’ll still have about an equal amount between the two of us at the end of each month. It’s like this for the rest of the school year.”

And just like that, Jungeun feels the weight of 10,000 bricks lifted off her shoulders. But instead of thanking Jinsol, she sits in utter disbelief - she had gotten so used to the crushing weight that she had forgotten how it felt to be free of it. 

Jinsol sets the laptop on the coffee table, and just when Jungeun thinks she’s done, Jinsol takes both of her best friend’s hands into her own. “Jungeun…” The raw emotion in Jinsol’s eyes makes Jungeun’s breath hitch. “I know I haven’t been the best mom… Or the best wife either.” She says, apologetically. 

“It shouldn’t have had to get as bad as it did for me to realize that. You should never, ever have to be doing everything. I’m sorry I wasn’t paying enough attention to your needs to wake up sooner.

“I know I have to make some big changes,” the blonde continues. “But I’m willing to make all of them, if it means you get the rest you deserve.” Jinsol rubs her thumbs over the backs of Jungeun’s palms, making Jungeun’s heart flutter. “And I know no amount of words or temporary fixes could make my mistakes up to you… So… I hope you like my plan.”

Jungeun stops, just to take it all in.

She’s overwhelmed with all of her wife’s thoughtfulness, as Jinsol looks to her for some type of response. 

No more creamerless coffee. No more sleep deprivation for over two months. And no more doing everything alone.

Jungeun nearly makes Jinsol fall off the couch when she pounces on her for the biggest, tightest hug on Earth. The wave of happiness is the biggest one she’s felt in so long, and she squeezes Jinsol so giddily with all its force to the point where Jinsol is choking out that she can’t breathe.

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” Jungeun’s heart sings, with joyous teary eyes as she holds Jinsol tight. “I love you,” she repeats, muffled in her wife’s sweater. “Thank you so much baby, I- thank you for all of it, I love you _so_ much Jinsol-” 

“You like it?” Jinsol chokes out from Jungeun’s powerful hug. 

“I love it,” Jungeun can only breathe out with eyes full of wonder and appreciation. “I love it, I love you,” Just thinking of all of the help she’s going to get, the _sleep_ she’ll get gives Jungeun the biggest rush; there’s nothing on her mind besides pure happiness. “Thank you,” Jungeun whispers blissfully, taking Jinsol’s face in her hands, and leans in to kiss her with all that she has.

Even after the millions of kisses they’ve already shared, Jungeun and Jinsol still make moments that belong in a highlight reel. This is one of them.

Jinsol is laughing into their kiss, they both are, and Jungeun peppers countless happy little kisses all over Jinsol’s face. “You deserve it Jungeun,” Jinsol whispers, bringing their foreheads together.

Jinsol pulls her wife in for another tight hug, Jungeun exhaling years worth of relief into her hair. 

“I’m sorry it took me so long sweetie,” the scientist says sheepishly. And Jungeun just pulls away, holding Jinsol’s face in her hands with a soft, forgiving smile.

Their lips meet again, and their excitement calms into slow, loving kisses that deepen as they lose themselves in each other. 

Jungeun breaks away to push a giddy Jinsol backward onto the couch, Jinsol’s hands rubbing at her wife’s back to pull her impossibly closer. They’re kissing passionately, Jungeun on top of Jinsol when- 

 _“EW!”_ Choerry squeals unexpectedly from the top of the spiral staircase, grossed out at the sight of her parents going at it on the couch. 

But despite that, she can’t help the big smile that spreads across her scrunched up face - her moms taught her what love is, and it’s been a while since she’s seen her favorite couple so lovey dovey.

Jungeun pulls away immediately, extremely flustered, and they both catch their breath as Choerry comes down the stairs giggling and covering the side of her face with a hand. “You guys are _so_ gross!”

“We’re gonna chase you.” Jinsol says abruptly, propping herself up on her elbows. 

“Chase me?” Choerry looks at her, raising her eyebrows with a disbelieving smile. “I’m literally thirteen.” 

Jinsol takes the love of her life’s hand and stands up, and they both start to take slow steps towards their daughter. “And then we’re gonna tickle you.” 

“Stop.” Choerry says. But they only creep closer to her. “Stop it,” Choerry says, much more fearfully, her voice rising in pitch as her eyes begin to widen in fear.

Jinsol lunges to grab her, and Choerry screams in excited fear. She sprinting down a hall, laughing her heart out as both of her moms run to chase her down.

 

The Thai food on the coffee table has long since gone cold. But that doesn’t matter to Jungeun and Jinsol - Choerry will always be their little girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Therapy: expensive  
> Writing Domestic!Lipsoul, Married!Lipsoul, Family!OEC: free
> 
> Orbits want soft and happy Lipsoul and we are here to PROVIDE!  
> As you can see, this chapter was our longest yet! So much thought and prep was put into this one. So for this one especially, TeLL uS aLL yOuR fAvOrItE PaRtS, your favorite scene(s), and all the emotions you experienced because they keep us writing... And don’t forget to appreciate a sleepy girl in your life <3 - Cat
> 
> p.s. hope you enjoyed the soundtrack! :)))) and next up is the mother/daughter tag team Trivia Night competition <3 
> 
>  
> 
> THIS!! chapter was so fun to write i hope you all liked it uwuwuwuwu. guys loonacon is so soon like next week everyone scream...<3 bye -daniela
> 
> Twitters: Daniela - @jiwoorene  
> Cat - @lgbtchuuves (The L is an uppercase i!) 
> 
> CuriousCat: Daniela - curiouscat.me/yoojungsua


	8. Trivia Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys honestly reading all of the loving comments, tweets, memes, private messages, EVERYTHING never fails to put a smile on my face. We even got drawings. DRAWINGS!!??! Omg. Can’t even express how much I appreciate all of you. All your kind words are our fuel to continue! Thank you <3  
> \- Cat  
> p.s. also don’t ask why the kids call her principal haseul. they just do.  
> hi everyone!!! thank u so much for the responses on the last chapter!! this update is really important to me lowkey because as a writer i obviously use a lot of my own experiences to make my work but for this chapter i went really into it so i hope you guys like it uwu. school is starting soon which means we might be slower than usual with updating but bear with us and continue to enjoy our story :) - daniela
> 
> TW: Bullying

When Choerry wakes on the cold November morning, her first move, like any other American teen, is to check her phone. 

She rolls over under her thick, purple comforter with little crescent moons, past her plentiful favorite plushies to her bedside table.

And when Choerry opens the chat window between her and her boyfriend, her face falls a bit when she’s presented with only a new read receipt on the numerous good morning and goodnight texts she’s sent over the past few days.

Nevertheless, she opts to send another.

 **Choerry:** good morning baby! <3 <3 <3 just wanted to ummm say good morning! :D i know you have that english test today and i hope you ACE it! i love you so so so so much, have a great day my sunshine <3 

Despite the energy in her text though, Choerry can’t help but stare at her previous good mornings that have accumulated before today, and fights tears that start to prickle at her eyes at the lack of reciprocation.

***

Hours later that Monday, the blazing Southern California sun shines high over St. Jihyo’s Presidential Academy - and Ms. Wong is interrupted from her grading by the mischievous cackling at the desk in front of her.

While her seat partner Yeri watercolors silently with her airpods in, Yeojin is practically dying of laughter in front of her phone. The shortest girl in the class is louder than every other conversation in the room combined. When she catches her breath for a moment, she realizes her art teacher staring straight at her, bewildered.

“Did you finish your assignment?” Vivi asks, trying to hide the amused smirk on her own face from her favorite student.

“Oh yeah, here you go!” Yeojin carefully rips the watercolor paper from her sketchbook at the serrated edge, and hands her masterpiece to her teacher.

Vivi scans the colored paper with narrowed eyes. “This is a woman’s butt.”

“That is a _peach_ Ms. Wong. Getting a little raunchy with your thoughts over there.” 

The art teacher shuts her eyes in unexpected embarrassment and starts to shake her head. “You better not be looking at anything _raunchy_ on your phone over there, or I’ll confiscate it,” she says with raised eyebrows. (She allows phones, as long as the student is finished.)

Yeojin snickers at her teacher, then lowers her voice for secrecy. “You wanna see something goofy as hell?”

The little eighth grader doesn’t wait for an answer. She stands and leans forward, extending her arm to Vivi’s face to show the phone screen. 

Vivi’s eyes widen when she recognizes the app’s interface as Tinder. She also recognizes the woman on the screen after a few seconds.

It’s Haseul.

Ms. Wong gasps hard, while Yeojin nods slowly in amusement. The art teacher simply cannot believe her eyes - she is face to face with her boss’s (and friend’s) dating profile. 

The cover card of Haseul’s profile is a selfie in a collarbone-exposing marigold top, in which she pokes her cheek with an adorable little smile. The image makes Vivi’s heart melt into a puddle of endearment, and her mouth falling open a little as she beams.

“This is… actually-”

“Oh my God Ms. Wong. You _need_ to see the other pictures.” The eighth grader swipes the adorable cover photo away to reveal a very interesting photo series. 

Vivi can’t really explain it, but it’s one of the best things she’s ever seen.

The first is a very close-up photo of Haseul smiling in her shades, her index finger and thumb pinched together to look like she’s pinching the sun. But she’s horribly off, clearly the result of the photographer’s (Yeojin’s) intentional misguidance. 

The second is her and Dr. Phil during a book signing held at a Verizon Wireless. (Haseul was the only one camped out at 5am that day.)

The third a screenshot of one of Haseul’s Facebook posts that reads “HELP… Does Fitbit run on wifi or Bluetooth? I don’t want any wifi running through my body.”

The fourth is Haseul dabbing in front of an active Black Lives Matter protest.

Vivi can’t help it anymore, her laughter is so loud the students are starting to wonder what is going on. Doesn’t help that the song linked to Haseul’s profile in the ‘My Anthem’ section is the wildly erotic Ludacris song “What’s Your Fantasy”. 

“I s- I shouldn’t be looking at this,” she barely chokes out. But she swipes again, and the next photo is Haseul posing next to a large possum with thumbs up. “Aww, is this your… p… possum?” Vivi asks stifling even more laughter.

 _“GAHAHA-_ Swipe again,” Yeojin commands, and Vivi does. The next photo is the exact same possum baring sharp teeth and chasing a terrified Haseul down the street. “She just picked that shit up off the ground!” Yeojin wheezes, while Vivi rests her chin in her hand, eyes screwed shut in disbelief. “We don’t have a fucking possum!” 

“Language,” Vivi says, failing to be authoritative as she curls her fingers to cover her smile.

“SORRY- We don’t have a fucking rodent!” Yeojin exclaims.

“But the first photo was so cute!” 

“Yeah,” Yeojin huffs. “Tinder moves your best picture to the front. I don’t know how to turn that off. So all these women keep messaging my mom and… It’s kind of respectable actually.”

Yeojin looks up through her eyelashes to study Ms. Wong’s reaction - and boy, does she get one.

“What?” Vivi questions with a tone that Yeojin thinks is… 

Dare she say… the tiniest, teensiest, weensiest bit…

_Threatened._

“She has a lot of messages?” 

Her favorite teacher is skilled with covering up her emotions from years of practice, Yeojin can tell. But the principal’s daughter still catches on, and grins internally. _I knew it._

“Yeah… Like _thousands,”_ Yeojin exaggerates, just to watch the smallest flame flicker in Vivi’s eyes. She shouldn’t be playing with fire, shouldn’t be meddling in affairs like this, but who is she kidding? It would take a whole lot of money and rap promo for her to do what she’s supposed to do for once. “Thousands of these women just be messaging my mom like ‘You’re a catch’ or whatever…” 

“Oh…” Vivi sits in her seat, staring at the screen, staring at the 99+ notifications button gleaming. “That’s great for her,” and Vivi knows that for the life of her she should just stop talking, knows she should just drop it with her student _who is the daughter of her boss_ \- but she can’t stop the question from leaving her mouth. “Does she ever message any of them back?” she prods curiously, feigning innocence.

Yeojin knows she’s really gotten the reaction she wanted.

“I mean,” she guffaws. “I don’t know… But I mean, one of these days someone is definitely gonna lock her down…” She says casually, successfully executing this situation that she’s masterminded to expedite romantic action between the two.

When Vivi doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, Yeojin feels thrill coursing through each and every one of her veins. 

And then, the teacher says a very weak “Good for her!” with a sweet smile, but joyless eyes. 

The eighth grader cannot _believe_ how smart she is, and the crumbs of the teacher’s passive aggression are music to her ears. Ms. Wong… is _jealous?_

“Read the bio I gave her,” Yeojin commands to ease her favorite teacher, stifling a cackle with her hand.

And at the bottom of the screen - **“The only difference between me and a mosquito is that I don’t stop sucking when it bleeds!”**

Vivi is now losing her mind laughing, her head thrown back with a hand covering her mouth to quiet herself, while Yeojin begins to wheeze so hard she crumples onto the classroom floor shaking. 

 _“Yeojin-”_ The art teacher struggles to breathe as she laughs into her hand with eyes screwed shut. “That is _extremely_ inappropriate-”

“Wazzup playas!” 

Principal Haseul and her big dorky smile are now at the threshold of Ms. Wong’s classroom. Her heart is filled to the brim at the sight of her two favorite people having so much fun together at the front desk. 

Ms. Wong clears her throat to collect herself out of formality in front of her superior, but Yeojin doesn’t even try as she continues wheezing on the floor and holds on to the side of Vivi’s desk for dear life.

Haseul blinks. “What are we laughing at?”

“Someone showed me your dating profile,” Vivi whispers to her friend with an amused smile, out of earshot from the rest of her students when Haseul walks close enough. 

“My what?” The short-haired short woman says, bewildered. “I don’t have a… what profile?”

Vivi’s eyes widen in realization and she turns towards Yeojin, who is convulsing with laughter at the side of her desk. “She doesn’t even know?!” 

Haseul snatches the phone from her daughter’s hands in panic and swipes through the _highly_ embarrassing portfolio of profile photos. “Ohmygod,” she breathes lowly, her ears red with complete embarrassment. And _Vivi_ was looking at it?!?! “Oh my _God.”_

In the middle of class while the other students continue talking, oblivious, Haseul is turning red as a tomato. “I don’t even know what to say to you,” she says flustered and overwhelmed with her daughter, the most embarrassed she’s been in months. _“Delete it!_ Delete it right now-” she hisses.

“Why? Do you see all these women who want you?!” Yeojin hisses.

Then, Haseul falters. “...What women?”

Yeojin snatches the phone back, and presents the Matches section to Haseul’s eyes. “You look good for a hag, apparently!” 

Haseul’s eyes widen at the countless, _never-ending_ list of women who have initiated a conversation with her online profile. “Oh wow…” She can’t believe her eyes, ego inflating a bit. “That’s… That’s a lot of messages…”

“Look at this one, she’s literally a model.” Yeojin points to a gorgeous dark-skinned woman.

“Oh wow, she’s so pre-”

 _“OKAY CLASS-”_ The mother and daughter are whipped out of their conversation to see Vivi suddenly jolting up from her seat, addressing the class almost aggressively.

Haseul is frozen in shock at the sudden outburst… while Yeojin looks at her with wide eyes.

 _You’re welcome,_ Yeojin mouths knowingly to her mother with a mischievous smile, as Vivi continues addressing to the class about their next project. The eighth grader scampers back into her seat out of respect.

Haseul stands in shock while Vivi talks to her class. Then, when she finishes, the class resumes their work and casual chatter. 

Vivi returns to her seat elegantly, then turns to meet Haseul’s involuntarily widened eyes. 

The teacher suddenly rests her hand on top of Haseul’s on her desk, and begins using her fingers to trace over her smooth skin with a feather-light touch. White heat flares through every inch of Haseul’s insides at the caressing going on, and the shorter woman stares dumbfounded with flushed cheeks. 

“See you at lunch,” the art teacher smiles innocently.

Then, Vivi gets up again after sitting down for a grand total of 10 seconds to walk away to the back of the room, subtly flipping her perfectly straight dark orange hair behind her. Haseul is left utterly entranced with her heart beating in her throat, the blissfully intoxicating scent of her co worker's passion fruit shampoo and expensive perfume lighting up her senses.

And as Vivi walks to the back of the room, she takes a shaky breath, not even knowing herself where any of that came from.

_What the hell am I doing?_

***

“I think if McDonald’s were a person, I’d eat their ass.”

“You mean Ronald McDonald?” Chaewon asks, shouting a bit over the sound of moving traffic.

“You think I want to eat clown ass?” Yeojin gags.

“Yeah, it would taste pretty _FUNNY!”_ Chaewon grins smugly while delivering her punchline.

Everyone groans dramatically. 

“That sucked.” Hyejoo says at her side, which makes Chaewon actually look a bit hurt. The dark-haired girl hits her arm gently. “I’m just kidding.” Immediately, Chaewon is smiling again.

Yeojin, Chaewon, Hyejoo, Yeri, and Choerry walk under a cloudy November sky towards the new McDonald’s that was just built at the foot of the St. Jihyo’s hill. School had just ended, and the five girls have been easily entertaining each other on the sidewalk, making the ten minute walk fly by.

“If McDonald’s were a person, they would smell like _ass_.” Yeri counters. “I just know those employees don’t take showers and neither do most of the people that go in there,” she says with a serious expression.

“On the contrary… I believe McDonald’s is a sanctuary for the covert communist bourgeoisie,” Chaewon supplements, blowing a giant pink bubble of gum.

“No, no, you’re getting this all wrong,” Yeojin huffs. “This is strictly on the basis of cuisine. McDonald’s’ shit isn’t gourmet but they got you craving it every time. It’s called _longevity._ That’s what you call marriage,” she defends while Hyejoo visibly rolls her eyes from behind her and Choerry giggles.

The student body president had now completely dyed her luscious long hair a soft pink, removing all traces of purple and any remnants of the same look from the school year’s start. Choerry walks in the middle of their pack as they move as a unit away from the street and into the bustling McDonald’s parking lot.

“Oli, it’s windy, I’m cold,” Chaewon suddenly says as an excuse to wrap her arms around the taller girl’s arm.

“Are you fucking serious Chaewon? The wind current is about as strong as a baby’s breath.” Yeojin deadpans, making the girl scowl and blush. “Anyways. McDonald’s would be a thiqq queen with two Q’s. I am _not_ open to constructive criticism.” Suddenly, Yeojin stops in her tracks and squints at the drive thru, where a homeless man walks away from the line of cars and is munching on a Quarter Pounder.

“EDUARDO?!” The eighth grader yells out. Yeojin begins waving aggressively at the man. He gives a big smile with missing teeth, waves, and proceeds to walk away towards the depths of Los Angeles.

“Who the fuck was that?” Hyejoo asks with an incredulous expression, speaking for everyone except Yeri, who for some reason seems to understand whatever just happened.

“That’s Eduardo. He’s the homeless guy that sells my mixtapes on the bus for me,” Yeojin clarifies as they approach the golden arcs of the fast food building. “He gets to keep the money and I get the promo.” Without any further explanation, the tiny child opens the front door and walks inside with Yeri, the rest of the girls following behind, confused as ever.

The atmosphere of the eatery is suffocatingly thick, filled with the aromas of deep fryers and the pandemonium of rowdy students. Although only a newly opened branch, the building is extremely lively with nearly all its tables occupied.

As the principal’s daughter looks around, she observes the multiple ordering lines - short in height as they consist of primarily rowdy St. Jihyo’s middle schoolers. And then, there’s one slightly taller, slender woman with a bob standing in the very back of the middle line that looks extremely like-

“Mom?!” Yeojin shrieks in horror, and the woman turns toward the group of her students with a giant dorky smile, waving gently. Her eyes widen when she sees the familiar pink-haired girl accompanying her daughter.

“CHOERRY?” Principal Haseul nearly yells, pointing at the eighth grader.

“Hi Principal Haseul!” Choerry exclaims enthusiastically, happy to see her and also pointing back. 

“My favorite student and co-worker hellooo!” The principal begins jabbing her arms while pointing, and Choerry naturally does the same, making the two look like the meme of Spiderman pointing at his doppleganger, distracting everyone nearby in the middle of a McDonald’s.

“What is happening.” Yeojin deadpans. “Mom… What are you doing here,” she whispers, slightly frustrated. “I told you I’d be here today and you can’t be in the same establishment as me when you don’t drive me, it’s in the contract,” Yeojin says lowly with grit teeth, referring to the printed and framed contract they have where her mother doesn’t go where she goes unless it’s school, home, or the car.

Haseul snaps out of her pointing match with Choerry to face her child. “I know! I know, but I was craving the fries really bad so I sprinted over here the second the bell rang so I could beat you.”

Yeojin runs a hand over her face.

“Unfortunately I’m a little slower than I anticipated. That’s the tea!” Haseul laughs awkwardly at her own joke. “At least I didn’t get hit by cars on the way over. Well, at least, not two.” she says gravely.

Yeojin looks at her with a slightly disgusted face, then shrugs. “Okay understandable. Just please don’t eat here. But don’t get hit on your way back.”

“Will do, kiddo,” Haseul winks and salutes. “Good to see you girls! And Choerry!” She points at Choerry once more, and Choerry plays along until Haseul turns to order at the counter to order quickly.

“I fucking love her,” Chaewon whispers at Hyejoo’s side. 

“Yeah, you can have her.” Yeojin says, massaging her temples. “Why the fuck was my mother doing that to you,” she looks to Choerry.

“We’re best friends!” the student body president smiles big. “Ever since we started doing morning announcements together,” she says, as though there’s absolutely nothing abnormal about being besties with the principal.

Once Haseul finishes up and leaves, Yeri approaches the register to order first.

“Hi, can I get a McFlurry?” 

“Aren’t you gonna get food?” Yeojin whispers right behind her, a bit concerned. 

“Oh shit you right. Can I also get two apple pies?” The little black-haired girl requests, then pays for her nutritious meal. (Irene would throw a scolding fit if she were present, but Seulgi would gladly let her daughter have it.) 

Yeojin approaches the register next. “Big Mac” is all she says with reverent nods.

Behind her, Chaewon’s attention is caught by the sign hanging off the register. “Look Yeojin, they’re hiring,” the blonde begins to chortle in her tiny voice. “Take a look, grab an app...” 

The smaller girl turns around and points at the worker taking her order. “Chae this is you when you turn 40. You have no life, no family, no land and you just went through a ruthless divorce in which you lost custody of your three children and your dog and now you need to buy the cheapest fish in PetsMart and work at a McDonald’s.” Yeojin says. Then, she turns back to the offended, glaring cashier like nothing happened. “And a large sweet tea please.” 

Hyejoo and Chaewon follow after; the taller of the two taking the lead to order. “Two cheeseburger meal with large fries please,” the raven-haired eighth grader says, ordering for the both of them. “And one large Sprite.” 

And behind them, Choerry stares at all the choices on the menu… lost.

Although breakfast for her until recently had been consistently Starbucks, dinner was always an entirely different story. Most of the time, whenever Choerry would ask to eat out, she was met with a very irate _“THERE’S FOOD IN THE HOUSE.”_ from none other than Jungeun Kim. 

Choerry has no idea what the logic is in her shorter mother’s mind. The eighth grader is well aware that her family is well-off enough to eat McDonald’s every meal, every day, for the rest of their lives and not make a dent in the fortune they’ve accumulated already. But regardless, Jungeun seldom relents to her daughter’s requests and protests - no matter how much the child would beg and plead.

So Choerry doesn’t know what to order, really, because the last time she’s been to a McDonald’s was when her other mother would regularly treat her to Happy Meals. After  long, laborious days of first grade, Jinsol and Choerry would fool around with apple slices side-by-side in the booth.

That was nearly 8 years ago.

She doesn’t really suppose a Happy Meal applies anymore.

“Choerry,” Hyejoo calls her, snapping her out of her bittersweet nostalgia. The raven-haired girl is carrying a tray of her and Chaewon’s food, as the latter goes to find a table with the others. “It’s your turn.” The cashier looks to her expectantly. 

“Oh- Sorry…” But Choerry is still at a loss for an order. “I haven’t been here in a really long time,” she says to Hyejoo quickly.

“What did you get last time?”

“The four piece McNugget Happy Meal.” Choerry says with crinkled eyebrows.

“She’ll have the ten piece chicken nuggets,” Hyejoo saves, telling the cashier who taps at the screen graciously.

Choerry thanks her friend with another apology and adds of a pink lemonade. “Do your moms take you to McDonald’s?” she asks Hyejoo. She knows the two have… similar backgrounds, per sé. 

“Fuck no.” Hyejoo answers. She only knows what a McChicken is because of her friends. And when she was craving one when they weren’t around, she remembers the one day she asked her mothers if they could stop by. 

_“Umm… Sweetie let’s get something better! Like Five Guys or In N’ Out.” Jiwoo rejects politely from the front of the Mercedes._

_“Why would you want McDonald’s?” Her other mother breaks her silence in the driver’s seat, crinkling her nose in disgust at the cheap food. “You want a burger? I’ll have the chefs from Lendroit le Plus Prétentieux come over to the house and make one.”_

_“No, it’s fine I-”_

_“TOO LATE. I’M ON THE PHONE WITH- Hi Valentin, it’s Sooyoung,” she greets in a lovely, pleasant tone. Hyejoo sighs in defeat._

The gloomy eighth grader huffs into her gray hoodie at the memory. Yeah, she never tried that again. 

Hyejoo waits for Choerry to receive her food, and they both make their way to the table where Yeojin had to scare away several hungry crackheads by wriggling her arms back and forth and screaming that she is a giant mutant cockroach.

“And on the roof? Oprah Winfrey. Holding twelve chinchillas, on _God_ I could feel Jesus’s presence,” Yeojin says, in the middle of a story while the remaining girls take their seats. Their student body president erupts into a giggling fit along with the others. 

“Guys, did you know Choerry listened to our mixtapes?” Yeojin tells the group, reminiscing on what she was told in the haunted house, peeling away the yellow paper wrap of her hamburger.

“Whaaat?” 

“I don’t know how you can listen to that shit,” Yeri says sassily, mixing her McFlurry. “When they both refuse to give me a feature.”

“Who’s the better rapper.” Chaewon asks Choerry, slamming her tiny hands on the table, and it’s more of a rhetorical threat than a question warranting free will. “Me or Yeojin.”

Choerry laughs nervously at the little girl’s piercing eyes. “Umm-”

“It’s obviously me. It’s okay, you don’t have to say it. It goes without saying. Like every group has to have an It Girl, and that’s me,” the normally sweet, quiet girl asserts in a high-pitched confident voice. 

“PLEASE. It’s literally me.” Yeojin pokes in Choerry’s direction with a fry. “Chae’s tracks are microwaved six times. She douses that shit in effects. _And_ she is fucking incoherent. I don’t speak GoWonese.” 

Chaewon looks like she is about to splash her friend in the face with her giant cup of Sprite. 

“Not me though... That was raw 100% all-natural talent freestyle,” Yeojin speaks slowly and proudly through passionate nods, moving her hands carefully like she’s doing imaginary pottery. 

“You mumble over a garage band beat.” Chaewon retorts.

“Your shit is pure noise! At least you can _understand_ me while I shed light on the world’s injustices.”

“What are you? The fucking UN? My shit is _so_ fucking top tier. My beats psychotic. Hypnotic. Have bitches addicted like a fuckin’ narcotic. _WAAAAHHHHHH!”_ She screams suddenly and flails her arms in the air at the rhyme she just created on the spot, banging her hands on the table through a newfound adrenaline rush. Everyone in the McDonald’s is now looking at their table. Hyejoo smiles and nods at her side.

Choerry chuckles and sips at her drink. “I like you both equally!” 

“That’s what the mom said in _Sophie’s Choice,_ Choerry, when she had to choose whether or not to chokeslam her daughter or son.” 

“I don’t think that’s how the movie goes-”

“Eventually Sophie had to make a choice,” Yeojin pressures.

Choerry doesn’t choose. In actuality, she just thinks both discographies are so weird she doesn’t even know where to begin comparing them side-by-side. “You’re both talented,” she giggles as she dunks a chicken nugget in barbeque sauce. “You two should collab!”

Yeojin and Chaewon both make loud, dramatic disapproving noises at the same time. 

“NO MAN.” Yeojin insists.

“No way. Not again. I refuse.” Chaewon throws her hands up like a spoiled princess (or, just a diva, which Choerry is now amusedly realizing is what the typically mild-mannered tiny girl turns into when it comes to her music). 

 _“Not_ after last time.” 

“What?” Choerry questions. “What happened?”

“There were just differences in creative vision…” Chaewon says airily with closed eyes and her nose in the air.

“She’s fucking crazy.” Yeojin says seriously.

“You know sometimes, you just can’t work with people…” Chaewon is now filing her nails nonsensically with her straw.

“Shut the hell up I made your career.”

“Literally what is happening right now.” Choerry says. 

“I’m gonna go get a sundae,” Yeri blurts randomly.

“Girl you just had a McFlurry and two apple pies bitch!” Chaewon responds in disbelief.

“Yeah and now I want dessert?!” Yeri leaves to the cash register without another word.

“Okay fine, let’s get another third party to decide,” Chaewon takes a loud sip of her Sprite. “Oli,” she says to the quiet taller middle schooler at her side, tone suddenly turning soft. “Who’s the better rapper?”

“You.”

“And that’s that on that!” The tiny blonde smiles, peeling off the lid of her Sprite. She begins to shake the cup violently against her face to eat the ice.

“Rigged,” The other rapper rasps out.

“You can’t ask Olivia that’s not fair! She’s your girlfriend!” Choerry chirps, feigning obliviousness with a sweet, seemingly clueless smile. (She knows they’re not together; she just likes stirring the pot.)

Hyejoo suddenly flushes beet red, like Choerry flipped a tangible switch. Chaewon is still downing ice, but Choerry can see her ears redden through her wavy sunflower blonde hair. Yeojin holds her breath in anticipation for a response from one of them on the touchy subject.

Chaewon finally pulls the cup away from her face. “Olivia’s not my girlfriend,” she says nonchalantly. 

“Y- yeah,” Hyejoo almost stutters out.  

 _That’s okay,_ Choerry thinks. _It’s only a matter of time anyway!_ She smiles and dunks another nugget.

“Anyway Choerry, you should listen to my new song. I relistened to it and I’m gonna be honest with you, there were tears. Like, tears. AND! You’ll never guess- there were tears.” 

“What is that shit called again?” Yeojin asks, as Yeri returns to their table with her new sundae.

“Live Birth,” Chaewon clarifies. Choerry snorts. 

“You guys should come with me to the Trivia Night at Chaeyoung’s moms’ pizza place tomorrow,” Yeri says, settling back into her seat. “Her moms are advertising it through PTA, and my mom told me to invite you guys,” she rests her cheek on her palm while spooning herself a mouthful of melting vanilla ice cream. “Plus, Chaeyoung’s cool and first prize is free pizza for LIFE.”

All the other girls “OoooO” at the very appetizing incentive. 

“I’m down. I’m a fucking GOD at trivia, could outsmart all of you lames,” Yeojin sneers. “And if Stephen Hawking were alive I’d be his fucking pupil right now.”

“It’s a parent child tag team thing,” Yeri adds. “So you do it with your mom!”

“Nevermind,” Yeojin sighs. “There go all my chances at winning,” Yeojin deadpans while everyone laughs. “But I’m still down. Support the fam.” 

“I’m down,” Chaewon says as well. Yeojin pumps her arm with a “Yesss! Ms. Wong!”

“Me too,” Hyejoo says expectedly.

“Me too,” Choerry adds. The stricter of her two mothers will probably be busy, but Jinsol should be free considering that she’s still taking time off. “Wait…” Choerry looks to Hyejoo apprehensively.

“Don’t worry,” Hyejoo says, reading her mind about Sooyoung and the trouble that could be brewing if she were in Jinsol’s vicinity. “I’ll tell her, but she would never show up. I’ll just ask my other mom or my babysitter or something.”

The rest of the girls nod and they all continue eating their food, laughing and talking without a single care in the world.

***

Some hours later when the sunset sky is beginning to dim, Sooyoung Ha saunters across the cobblestones outside her mansion. The lengthy stony pathway gradually slopes downward, as it curves around a shady bend toward their front gate where the CEO checks the mail.

With Jiwoo being an internationally known celebrity and Sooyoung being (technically one too after her YouTube debut) one of the most successful businesswomen in history, the self-made billionaires of course pay to have their mail meticulously filtered for them, only allowing close contacts access to their home. 

The statuesque woman stands behind the safety of their estate’s closed metal gate,  between two marble statues of ferocious lions that are frozen in roar. The terrifying degree of detail almost serves as another element of their security. 

She opens her mailbox and collects the items inside.

Sooyoung is greeted with a utility bill or two, some invitations to galas and business get togethers, miscellaneous magazines that Jiwoo is subscribed to, and two parcels. 

As the birds chirp in the trees above her, Sooyoung sets the mail at her feet and picks up the first parcel to rip open in her hands. 

Inside the first package is a magazine in shrink wrap that the CEO turns over with a slight gasp. It’s an issue of Forbes. 

Her and Jiwoo don the front cover.

 **MEET THE RICHEST COUPLE IN THE WORLD** , it reads front and center, while Sooyoung is photographed in a plush chair with Jiwoo standing behind her, the former lifting her fingers by her ear for her wife to lightly interlace with her own.

And damn, do they look _fabulous._

Sooyoung reads the attached note to herself, a thank you from the magazine’s headquarters and a courtesy gift of the issue two months in advance. 

She takes another long, hard look at the cover, and attempts to soak it all in. 

Richest couple in the entire _world._

It feels so utterly abstract. For a billionaire herself, the thought of outranking seven billion others in wealth ironically seems unquantifiable. Oh, how long it’s taken to get here!

Sooyoung wasn’t surprised when she was first informed that her and Jiwoo were now the richest couple in the world; it _was_ , after all, only a matter of time after Sooyoung herself single handedly orchestrated the fall of the Bezos. 

The CEO knows she’ll never get tired of staring at this beautiful cover. She makes a mental note to have it enlarged and framed. 

Carefully, she slides the shrink-wrapped issue back into its parcel and sets it down. Sooyoung retrieves the remaining package to open.

But her heart stops in horror when she slowly recognizes the handwriting on the cover.

 **FOR HYEJOO** , it reads. 

The script is her father’s.

And for the first time in a long time, all the breath is stolen from her lungs.

How did they get her home address? How did this even get through to their house?!

 _“SHIT!”_ she screams vehemently, scaring away all the chirping birds as she violently throws the package to the ground.

***

_“I-I’m sorry Ms. Ha, they said they were family and I-”_

“You are to never, _ever_ let those people contact us, do you understand me?”

_“I am so sorry ma’am, I will let the staff know-”_

“I don’t care what _anyone_ says they are. If you get anything from these people you are to send it back. _Immediately.”_

_“Yes m-”_

“And if I receive one _single_ package more from them inside of my family’s home, I will personally see to it that you are never able to financially support yours again. Do we understand each other?”

_“Y-Yes ma’am.”_

***

“FIFTEEN, CHOERRY! _FIFTEEN_ watermelons all stuck inside the plane engine and my mom insisted that I get off the wing instead of saving my people.”

The next day, Choerry is walking through the busy, baby blue halls of St. Jihyo’s and listening to another one of Yeojin’s elaborate stories. The pair are walking back to their lockers together after third period.

Was Yeojin in the middle of her story? Or was that the end? Choerry could not tell you how they’d even arrived at this point in the narrative. But at least the smaller girl was enjoying herself as she told it, and her fervid energy was gleefully infectious.

“HAHAHAHA!” 

Choerry and Yeojin both look ahead in the bustling hall to see the origin of the loud, obnoxious laughter. 

There Nayeon stands, her head thrown back in laughter assumingly at something one of the basketball boys in front of her had said. Chad stands among them, trying to be subtle about picking his nose.

“LAUGH LOUDER! I DIDN’T HEAR YOU THE FIRST TIME!” Yeojin shouts to the group, which causes them to snap their heads up to look at her. Choerry tenses and hugs her books closer to her chest, immediately uneasy at the sudden confrontation.

“AND BE CAREFUL CHAD, YOU’RE GOING TO PICK OUT YOUR LAST BRAIN CELL IF YOU KEEP UP THE DIGGING!” Yeojin continues from her place down the hallway. 

The principal’s daughter’s last comment elicits laughter from every other student who stands around them. 

“HEY!” Chad shouts defensively from his position, sizing up Yeojin and completely ignoring his girlfriend next to her. “AT LEAST I’M NOT FUCKING _ADOPTED!”_

“OH SHUT UP!” Yeojin yells back, completely unbothered and not even giving her surrounding classmates a chance to go _OOOH!_ “I WAS CHOSEN. LIKE JESUS.” The tiniest girl in the grade barks from across the hall, making Choerry smile in amazement despite her boyfriend forgetting she exists. “AT LEAST MY MOM _CHOSE_ ME! UNLIKE YOUR ACCIDENT ASS.” 

The entire hall excluding the group of popular kids erupts into thrilled screams and Yeojin smirks, exalted and triumphant. 

Choerry looks up and makes eye contact with Nayeon, who raises an eyebrow at her, sending the student council president’s eyes to the ground. 

Yeojin ignores them though, and notices her friend’s change in demeanor at her side. “Relax,” she says. “I was just exaggerating about your boyfriend’s brain cells. Maybe. As for your little bitch’s crusty ass, I’m not going to rock her shit or anything. She’s just been extra obnoxious ever since… You know, you stopped being friends with her.”

Choerry looks up to meet the smaller girl’s gaze, small worry lines forming across her forehead. “We’re still friends, we just hang out less,” Choerry asserts, somewhat trying to convince herself, too. She looks over to Nayeon once more, who has continued her chat with the boys, but turns to scowl at Yeojin every once in a while. 

“I’m not afraid of her,” Yeojin laughs nonchalantly. “But she is truly acting like she’s the head bitch in a bad romcom, and it makes me want to curb stomp her directly into the Earth’s core.”

The worry lines on the president’s forehead grow deeper, and she approaches her locker and can’t seem to concentrate enough to get the lock’s combination right, despite it being the same for months now. Yeojin thinks it’s time to change the subject.

“Kidding! I’m kidding. Sort of. Anyway, you’re coming to Trivia Night tonight, right? With your mom? Here,” Yeojin notices Choerry struggling with the textbooks still piled in her arms and takes them from her to free up her movement. 

“Thank you,” the pink-haired girl exhales deeply in grateful relief. She rearranges her locker’s contents in their designated places, then takes her books back from Yeojin’s arms. “And yeah, of course! You ready to get your butt kicked?”

“Yes actually, my mother is not very bright.” Yeojin deadpans, and Choerry snickers despite her unwavering massive love for their principal. “But hey, I have to go to class. We’re playing recorders in Music today.” Yeojin beams and bounces excitedly. 

“You like playing the recorder?”

 _“Fuck_ no! But I do like making Dahyun’s ears bleed, and she sits right next to me,” Yeojin says, basically jumping for joy. “She says-” Yeojin does an impression reminiscent of Mickey Mouse. _“If you don’t stop, I’ll sue you!_ And that really just gives me a rush you know?”

Choerry smiles at the mockery. “Have fun then,” she bids farewell, having enjoyed the company.

Yeojin clicks her tongue through a smile, then turns around to run down the hallway. “HEY DAHYUN!”

The student body president is left giggling to herself as she makes sure she has what she needs. She shuts her locker, only to be sent into cardiac arrest by Nayeon standing right behind the door.

 _“OH MyGod,”_ Choerry gasps, her books dropping to the floor.

“Hey bestie!” Nayeon says with a mischievous smile on her lips. “Aww, did I scare you? Sorry, had to get that in since I didn’t see you on Halloween. Or... _any_ time after Halloween really,” Nayeon boops Choerry on the nose with her finger, but her tone is warning. 

“I’ve been busy…” Choerry trails off, trying her best to ignore the feeling of her stomach twisting itself into a pretzel.

“Oh I _know!_ With your new little friends.” The last words are laced with both disgust and loathing. Nayeon walks closer to Choerry, corning the slightly shorter girl into her own locker. “What about _us_ though, Choerry.” Nayeon’s eyes are dark, smile long faded away.

“Um… I miss you too?” Choerry says, back hitting the locker now, as Nayeon is just far enough to make the scene not look like direct bullying but just close enough to make Choerry feel claustrophobically imprisoned.

Nayeon looks at her and is ominously silent for a few beats. 

Then, she smiles. “Good.” She tilts her head. “Because I’m gonna offer you one more chance to make it up to me,” the vice president says, backing off slightly. “Come over tonight after school. I’m having a party in my moms’ clubhouse. I’ll _even_ let you invite Chad.” The girl reaches over to touch Choerry’s pink hair, and despite the number of times Nayeon’s done this before, the gesture feels entirely alien now. “Because I’m _such_ a good friend!” she finishes. 

“Now, will you be?” Nayeon says after a long pause, with a tight-lipped, fear-inducing smile.  

Choerry crosses her arms to hug her new books, in an effort to dull the furthering sensations of tension causing her to nearly shiver. “I-I actually have plans, with Olivia and them already-”

 _“Well fucking ditch them then.”_ Nayeon commands. 

“O-Okay,” Choerry says, just wanting to get away from the taller girl at this point. “Okay.”

Nayeon flashes her signature toothy grin. “See!” she rests her hand on Choerry’s shoulder, who fights the urge to shudder. “I _knew_ you were a good friend!” Nayeon says, backing away to go to her next class.

But before she walks away, she turns around once more to face her classmate.

“You dropped your books.”

With that, Nayeon makes her way back down the hallway and into a classroom, leaving Choerry alone as the bell rings.

***

Choerry has been staring at her phone placed face down on her desk ever since she got home from school. 

After Nayeon threatened her in the hallway, Choerry sat in silence for the entirety of her final class, trying and failing to not let the new, unfamiliar, nervous tint on her worldview affect her. Then and there, she decided to just suck and it and go to Nayeon’s party, just so she would never have to endure the looming feeling of impending doom for any longer.

Unfortunately, that did mean she would have to lie to her new friends. When the bell rang, Choerry made a beeline straight towards her mother’s car. Thankfully, Jinsol continued her streak of letting her play her music via Bluetooth, allowing for the child to let music wash away her worries.

But when she got home and remembered she still needed to make a definite choice, her uneasiness began all over again.

She stares at the phone on her desk for a few minutes longer before finally forcing herself to grab it. Instead of opening a new group thread to let her friends know she wasn’t going, she taps on the person that might help her feel better. 

Choerry opens up the messages she shares with Chad, still no response from her text this morning. Hopefully now that she was in a predicament, he would respond like the gentlemen Choerry knew (or just really really hoped) him he would be.

 **Choerry:** hey :( i don’t feel good and i really need someone to talk to

The girl smiles with joy seeing an immediate “Read” stamp as a typing bubble appears on her screen. She knew Chad would be there for her!

 **Chad:** stop txting me im at practice ill get in truble

 **Chad:** c u @ nayeons 

Choerry’s smile fades.

She flips her phone facedown again and puts her head back so it bumps the wall gently. 

In all honesty, Choerry would rather curl into a ball and stay home all night rather than have to deal with any of this drama. But she knew that just wasn’t something that could be done.

_Bzz bzzzz._

Choerry lifts her phone quickly hoping to see a text message from Chad, anticipating an apology for having to cut her off in during her time of need. Instead, she is faced with a new group thread named _TIDDIE JUGGLERS_ with four other people.

 **Yeojin:** sorry pink doodlebop idk why u weren’t in this gc earlier

 **Yeri:** my 🅱️ad i forgot to add her

 **Chaewon:** hey sista!

 **Hyejoo:** Choerry you’re still coming to trivia night right?

Choerry falters from the smile that she didn’t even know was growing on her face. This was it, the perfect opportunity to tell them that there had been a change of plans. 

And yet, she realized how she had completely forgotten about the entire mess within just four text messages from the group. It was like a lightbulb had finally turned on in her head because she knew then and there that no matter how terrible the day had been, these girls would always help her feel like things weren’t as bad as she made them out to be.

Screw Nayeon for trying to make her leave them for some subpar party that she probably wouldn’t even enjoy.

 **Choerry:** of course!!! what time are you guys getting there?

 **Chaewon:** gowonators i can’t go anymore im sorry :(((( being forced to have dinner with potato loaf

 **Choerry:** i love potato bread!

 **Chaewon:** no that’s what i call my mom’s fuck ass boyfriend

 **Chaewon:** remember the lambo we egged b4 haunted housing

 **Chaewon:** comment f to pay respects

 **Yeojin:** F

 **Yeri:** 🅱️

 **Hyejoo:** f

 **Choerry** : f

 **Yeri:** also choerry let’s get there 6:30 to secure a seat. it gets PACKED up in there cuz the 🅱️readsticks be poppin off

 **Yeojin:** can u fucking stop with that

 **Yeri:** with 🅱️hat?

 **Yeojin:** THERE’S NOT EVEN A B IN THAT 

Choerry giggles at the fight occurring on her screen as she types out one last message. 

 **Choerry:** ok! see you guys there :)

***

“So I was wearing my tail and my dad was like, ‘Hyunjin take that off right now we are literally at an Olive Garden.’ Like _o-kay_ dad, my freedom of expression doesn’t stop just because we’re at a restaurant.”

Hyejoo takes a long sip of her iced water as Hyunjin passionately goes on about some incident with her father she refers to as an injustice against art. The two were seated at a table at Heart Shakers Pizza Parlor, waiting for Trivia Night to commence.

Usually, the eighth grader would be a little more irritable at the sound of her babysitter’s voice, but hey - she’d rather have Hyunjin here than her insane mother or a million people asking her other one for a picture or an autograph every second. 

There was the best pizza in town and fun trivia on the way, so if that meant Hyejoo has to put up with her babysitter for a little while longer, so be it. “Damn, that’s crazy.” Hyejoo says in the most monotone voice she could muster. “Tell me more.” 

Hyunjin continues to speak very animatedly. Hyejoo’s attention is stolen by a weird stranger outside the window of the restaurant.

The stranger can’t be older than a teenager, and she’s wearing a maroon beanie, an extremely baggy white Thrasher shirt, and ripped jeans. As the unidentified Korean skateboarder peers through the window, she stares right at their table like she’s just seen a ghost. Hyejoo narrows her eyes at the older girl in return. 

“He was dangling by his feet from the ceiling Olivia! And I was like ‘Damn Michael Cera why are you at an Olive Garden?!’”

“Wait, Hyunjin-” Hyejoo interrupts her babysitter. “Do you know that girl?”

Hyunjin turns to look at the girl in the window, whose eyes go wide and she scrambles to poorly hide behind a lightpost.

“Oh Jesus _Christ.”_ Hyunjin grumbles, her bright mood abandoning her in the blink of an eye.

The other girl peers from behind the pole to see Hyunjin still looking at her, then rushes to hide again as if her entire body isn’t still visible. Hyunjin stares back with a locked jaw. 

After a few more seconds, the girl outside finally gives up and walks inside. She can’t do it without nearing Hyunjin and Hyejoo though, as their table is directly adjacent to the door. Awkwardly, the girl adjusts her beanie and walks up to them, all while Hyunjin is practically scowling at her.

“Hyunjin…” she says, in the deepest voice Hyejoo has ever heard from a teen girl. “Hey… Been a while…” She scratches the back of her neck.

“What are _you_ doing here, Heejin,” Hyunjin snaps, leaving Hyejoo to raise her eyebrows in surprise at this new Hyunjin she’s never seen before. (She’s definitely enjoying it!)

“I work here. I’m about to clock in for my shift.” Heejin says, bowing her head a little as if trying to hide from Hyunjin’s gaze.

 _“Wowww,_ a working girl! Ryujin must really love that.” Hyunjin says bitterly, leaving Hyejoo with _so_ many questions.

“Hyunjin, I’ve been trying to talk to you but you haven’t answered any of my texts-” 

Suddenly, Hyunjin’s phone pings, cutting off Heejin who tries to explain herself. 

 **Sooyoung Ha:** I’m in the parking lot. You can leave now if you want.

“YOU KNOW WHAT. I can’t do this right now. My Uber is here,” Hyunjin says abruptly.

“Wh- You drove us here,” Hyejoo says, a smile growing on her face from amusement.

“UBER IS HERE!” Hyunjin repeats, getting up from her table and quickly leaving the restaurant, leaving Heejin and Hyejoo alone at the table.

“Hi, I’d like some breadsticks and an explanation,” Hyejoo snickers, making Heejin turn away from watching Hyunjin walk out the door longingly. “Because that’s the most I’ve liked her ever.”

“I’ll put the breadsticks in when I clock in.” Heejin says, and without another word she leaves, bounding toward the door marked **EMPLOYEES ONLY**.

Hyejoo smiles amusedly to herself until the door opens again and she sees a familiar tall, slender, and professionally-dressed woman clicking her heels as she walks towards her. Hyejoo’s stomach drops.

“Mom? Wh- Why are you here?” Hyejoo says, the joy from her face vanishing immediately.

“What? You told me to be here so here I am.” Sooyoung says in the most blunt voice in existence.

“Yeah but I didn’t think you would-” Before Hyejoo can finish, she’s interrupted by another familiar voice.

“Olivia!” 

Sooyoung narrows her eyes. “Who the hell is Olivia?”

Choerry is bursting through the door of the pizza parlor, a bright smile on her face as she waves energetically at Hyejoo. Her expression changes to one of fear though when she sees Sooyoung sitting next to her though.

“Choerry please slow down, I can’t keep up with… _You.”_ Jinsol stops in her tracks and looks at Sooyoung like she just strangled an entire litter of puppies.

Sooyoung turns her head, then narrows her eyes and deeply exhales through her flared nostrils. _“Jinsol.”_ She says sourly, like it’s the most awful taste in her mouth.

Choerry and Hyejoo look at each other, their facial expressions being that of pure terror. _I didn’t think she’d come,_ the dark-haired girl apologetically mouths to Choerry.

“The only person who will dye her hair blonde for two decades straight,” Sooyoung finishes cooly. “That can’t be good for your cells. Aren’t you a biologist?”

“TCH-”

“Okay, mom… Let’s...  Go over there and sit down!” A very nervous Choerry grabs Jinsol’s arm to direct her in another direction. 

But all the other tables are occupied or reserved; they have no choice but to sit with Sooyoung and Hyejoo. _Of course._

Reluctantly, Choerry takes a seat in front of Sooyoung. “Hi Auntie Sooyoung! It’s nice to see you!” she greets, dragging down Jinsol who looks ready to pounce.

“Um. Hello, Choerry.” Sooyoung replies awkwardly, removing her dagger-like stare from Jinsol for two seconds.

“Hi Aunt-” Hyejoo starts, but quickly rethinks her words as Sooyoung aggressively turns to her with her elbows slamming onto the table.

“Uhhhhhhhhh Dr. Kim.” Hyejoo finishes, cringing at her sudden change of wording.

“Hi goddaughter.” Jinsol says sweetly, a warm smile spreading across her face.

 _“You_ are not her godmother.” Sooyoung states coldly, eyebrows in a V.

“Well!” Jinsol flares. “Jungeun is, and Jungeun and I are married because she’s my wife and we’re fucking married because she’s my _wife_.” The CEO says to the other CEO, leaning over the table daringly.

“I’m sorry, do you have short-term memory loss? It was cute on Dory and my grandmother with dementia but you just look like an idiot.” Sooyoung snaps.

“You look like an idiot every minute of the day, but I never say anything to you. I just sit here in silence.” Jinsol retorts.

“You might as well euthanize yourself if all you do is sit in silence, at least then you’ll take up less oxygen.” Sooyoung grips the table as she snaps back.

“Okay! Okay!” Choerry cheers very nervously, rubbing her mother’s shoulder. “This is going to be fun! Right?” 

 _Take up less oxygen?! The environment would be saved if businesses like yours became more sustainable!_ But before Jinsol can get out the words, the door opens again and two more people walk in. 

Yeri struts into the pizza parlor holding up a cloud shaped perfume bottle and spraying it everywhere, even on people’s food, before coming to join Choerry and Hyejoo. 

“SUPPORT CLOUD BY ARIANA!” Yeri screams into the restaurant, as customers begin to gag on the fragrance that’s diffused in their mouth. 

“Yerim _enough,”_ Irene snatches the perfume bottle out of her hands and stuffs it into her purse. “I’m going to put a hold on your mother’s credit card if you keep misusing the things she buys you,” she scolds lowly. 

Yeri rolls her eyes and makes her way to the reserved table directly beside Sooyoung and Jinsol’s.

Irene takes one look at the two of them at the same table, and becomes so spontaneously exhausted she needs to sigh incredibly deeply.

“Sooyoung,” she says, nodding professionally with a hint of distaste. “Jinsol! How are you?” Irene asks with a smile.

Jinsol smirks at the clear favoritism. “Hi Irene!” 

“PREPARE TO DIE!” An old-sounding voice makes everyone in the pizza parlor’s head spin to the door in fear of robbery or some other worse crime. “Oh shit that sounded like a threat. HAHA I just meant like. In Trivia. You suckers are going down!” Yeojin shouts, shooting finger guns at everyone looking at her. 

Yeojin walks toward her friends, while Haseul stumbles into the venue behind her. 

“Hey Olivia. Choerry. Milfs.” The eighth grader says to the table.

Sooyoung instantly recognizes the familiar word from the title of the recorded video that condemned her to viral infamy. 

_Wait a second._

Sooyoung gasps hard in horror at the child who isn’t even five feet tall. _“Little Penis?!”_

Yeojin doesn’t even hear the other CEO, as she’s now chattering with Yeri. Yeojin sits at her table, prompting Haseul to take the empty seat which makes Irene reach for a rattling bottle of pills in her purse.

Jinsol is giggling lowly at Sooyoung’s random outburst. “What?”

“I know you are, but what am I!” Haseul responds to Sooyoung with a giant grin from the other table. 

Sooyoung turns, takes one look at her, and turns back around. Before she can confront Lil Peni$, she is interrupted by a waitress at their tableside. It’s Heejin, ready to take their order.

“Hi, what can I get you guys.”

Sooyoung rapidly scans the menu, as everyone else at the table says their orders. “This is too much carbs.” Sooyoung says to Heejin. 

“Umm… We have fish sticks?”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jinsol interrupts gravely.

Heejin stands awkwardly between the two women who look like they’re about to rip each other apart. “Umm… I’ll give you some time and I’ll come back,” she says with a little smile.

“And why not Greenpeace.” Sooyoung bites monotonously.

“You’re most likely contributing to overfishing and the destruction of an entire ecosystem, considering that those fish sticks are probably made from Atlantic whitefish which have only become more critically endangered in the last decade. Therefore, you making this choice is assisting in the collapse of our already worrisome environment-”

“You guys ready?” Heejin returns after taking Haseul’s table’s orders.

“Jinsol, that was actually very interesting thank you.” Sooyoung looks sincere for once in her life. She turns back to the waitress. “Yes I’ll have the fish,” she says with a sweet smile. “And for this woman next to me a Xanax.”

Jinsol is fuming. 

“And some breadsticks!” Sooyoung continues. “You love those, don’t you Jinsol.” Sooyoung is referring to a few months ago during the first PTA meeting of their children’s eighth grade year.

“I love breadsticks!” Choerry smiles brightly at her mother’s side, which redirects Jinsol’s attention and warms her heart as she smiles back. 

She’s not even going to respond to Sooyoung; that’s not what tonight is about. Tonight is about her and her daughter, and she’s not going to let her feud with Sooyoung ruin it just like it ruined Field Day.

Heejin leaves with the order.

“SANA!” Haseul shouts across the room suddenly. “LOOK AT THE CELEBRITIES YOU HAVE IN YOUR BUILDING!” she points to Sooyoung and Jinsol.

Sana, the host for the night and the co-owner of the establishment, looks at Haseul from the stage she’s standing on.

“Oh you’re right!” she says into the loud microphone that she’s just turned on, prompting the attention of all the other customers.

“Hey aren’t you the ladies from Milf Smackdown?” Someone says from somewhere in the restaurant. 

“I will neither confirm nor deny anything without a lawyer present.” Sooyoung responds, and Jinsol rolls her eyes so far back into her head you can’t even see her pupils.

“MILF SMACKDOWN? I LOVE THAT VIDEO.” Momo, the other co-owner peeks out from the kitchen and moves her dark bangs to see what’s going on. “Sana does a good impression, it’s makes me laugh.” Momo says grinning.

“Yes, it’s like, _Get your hands off me bigfoot you’re crushing my spine!”_ The stunningly beautiful blonde woman says in what appears to be Sooyoung’s voice. The audience laughs, but the table with both celebrities is extremely quiet.

“Sana, I don’t think this is a good idea, maybe open up another table…” Irene says, trying to remain as calm as possible even though she has 911 on speed dial ready to go.

“Why? We’re all just friends waiting to play trivia here!” Sana says, her cheery smile wide and eyes gleaming. “Okay well, let’s get this night started shall we!”

All the adults shift quietly except for Haseul, who is clapping like a seal and whooping.

“Welcome to our Parent Child Trivia Night everyone!” Sana says into the mic. “Tonight, all proceeds will help me and Momo’s daughter fund her first ever art gallery! Chaeyoung please come up and say hi!” Sana says, gesturing to the middle schooler’s classmate who was sitting just off the stage near a large whiteboard. Chaeyoung, in a small leather jacket and beanie walks up and takes the mic.

“Hi thank you all for coming and supporting art. I’ll be keeping score.” The eighth grader says quickly before returning to her seat. 

“Alright! So here’s how tonight is going to work!” Sana says, as Heejin and other employees begin to pass out little whiteboards to those participating. 

“I will be reading a question that has been randomly selected from this jar. You are currently being given one small whiteboard in which you will write your answer to the question on. Whichever team has their whiteboard up first with the correct answer on it receives a point. Whoever has the most points by the end of the night receives free pizza for life! Second and third place, you will not be left out, as there will be giftcards of different prices to our restaurant!” Sana finishes explaining and the crowd claps.

“LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEE.” Yeojin hoots from her seat and the audience responds with cheers as well. Sana grins and cheers along with them.

“Well you heard her folks! Let’s get started!”

Sana pulls the first question from the bowl of crumpled up pieces of paper and reads it out loud. 

“What is the name-”

“HASEUL!” Haseul screams, slamming her fists on the table. Yeojin covers her eyes in embarrassment.

“Um, let’s wait until the end of the questions for answers and make sure to write it on your whiteboard instead of screaming please! Sorry Haseul.” Sana says with soft eyes and continues the question.

“What is the name of the artist who painted the Mona Lisa?”

Jinsol and Irene’s respective groups scribble away as Sooyoung and Haseul sit in silence. 

The CEO leans over to Hyejoo’s ear. “Do you know?”

“If I knew I would’ve written it down.” Hyejoo says bluntly, causing Sooyoung to squint at her in offense.

 “You don’t have to be so-”

“Irene! Correct!” Sana says clapping, as Irene holds up **Leonardo da Vinci** on her whiteboard. Chaeyoung adds a point for her and Yeri on the whiteboard as the teams erase their previous answers. Sana continues with the next question.

“What year did Elvis Presley die?” 

Within milliseconds, Irene already has an answer with her whiteboard up high in the air.

“Wow Irene, again! Incredible!” Sana exclaims from the stage and another point is added to her score.

“Irene! How are you so good at this! You are so sickly!” Haseul says enthusiastically from across the table.

“Sickening. It’s sickening.” Yeojin corrects monotonously from next to her. “But really how are you so good Mrs. Kang that’s kind of hot…” Yeojin trails off, beginning to look Irene up and down.

“She studied for like three days straight after I told her this event was happening.” Yeri says nonchalantly, as if it’s normal for any grown woman to study random trivia questions for a lengthy amount of time.

Irene nods with a serious expression. “Do you know how much money the St. Jihyo’s PTA spends on pizza boxes? Because your principal wants five boxes of Hawaiian to herself?”

Haseul just snickers.

“You’re seriously trying this hard?” Sooyoung asks, turning around to face Irene, suddenly going from couldn’t-care-less to a little threatened. Irene stares fiercely back at Sooyoung.

“I will _never_ lose to you again.” 

“Okay! Let’s keep this game going!” Sana chirps from the stage, and continues to read more and more questions.

“What planet is closest to the sun?” 

Sooyoung creeps over to Irene’s table to try and sneak a peek at what she’s writing when suddenly she gets smacked in the face by a whiteboard.

“OW. What the hell Irene?” Sooyoung says, holding her nose, hoping it wasn’t bruised while Hyejoo has the audacity to start laughing. “I thought you were against violence!”

“We’re not on school grounds. No cheating!” Irene puts it simply and continues writing the answer on her board, but before she can finish Choerry whips up her and Jinsol’s white board.

“MERCURY! That’s correct!” Sana says, pointing to Choerry and Jinsol.

Jinsol looks at her daughter, impressed at how quickly she recalled a fact outside of her middle school curriculum and wrote it down even faster. “That was great Choerry!” 

Choerry blushes and smiles. “Thanks mom.” 

***

“Irene. Again. That’s correct.” Sana says, significantly less enthusiastically than the first time she said those words. Chaeyoung adds another point to Irene’s name on the whiteboard.

The scoreboard has Irene and Yeri at 80 points in first place. It should just say Irene though, because Yeri has been up from her seat choreographing her own dance to Carry Out by Justin Timberlake the entire time.

The audience groans as Irene scores yet again, but the fierce trivia queen turns to give them one sharp gaze and immediately the room is silenced.

Following behind in second is Jinsol and Choerry with 40 points. Sooyoung and Hyejoo have 12, Haseul and Yeojin have 0. 

Suddenly, Momo comes out of the back room and walks up to Sana on stage, whispering something in her ear. Sana moves back from her wife with wide eyes and a pout, clearly not wanting to do whatever the black haired woman has just asked of her. However, after giving the blonde a quick kiss on the cheek, Momo leaves the stage and Sana takes a deep breath.

“Irene, we are actually going to ask you to stop answering questions now…” Sana speaks quietly into the microphone as Irene looks at her quizzically. 

“What do you mean? I trained hard for this night. It is _not_ my fault nobody else in this building knows the answers.” 

Sana visibly panics before regaining her composure. 

“Um yes of course! Which is why you are already guaranteed the first place spot! Good job! Everyone let’s give Irene a round of applause!” Sana says, clapping quickly as the audience is slow to follow.

Irene seems to be satisfied with the response and she nods her head, Yeri giving her mother a high five. 

“Alright, now even though the big prize is gone, there are still gift cards on the line so let’s keep going with fresh points!” Sana says, back to normal now that the toughest part is over and the crowd cheers. The woman on stage pulls out the next question out of the bowl.

“If a picture… What…?” Sana reads the paper, clearly very confused by whatever is on it. “If a picture worth a thousand words... how many words is a thousand pictures?” Sana says, a little unsure of what she just said, but a smile on her face nonetheless.

“What the fuck does that even mean?” Sooyoung asks, the rest of the tables just as confused as she is.

“⅓!” Haseul screams holding up her whiteboard with the fraction **⅓** written on it.

“Correct! I don’t know what… even was the logic behind that! But correct!” Sana says, Chaeyoung adds a point for her.

“How did you know that?” Yeojin asks looking at her mom with her eyebrows narrowed.

“I made it up and snuck a bunch of questions into the bowl when I went to the bathroom.” Haseul whispers to her daughter excitedly. “I knew we could at least get on the scoreboard with it.” She giggles.

“Oh wow, respect.” Yeojin says, fist bumping her mom.

“Next question, what is programmed cell death called in biology?” Sana speaks into the microphone.

Jinsol is about to open her mouth to tell her, but Choerry quickly scribbles **apoptosis** on her whiteboard without even needing to ask her mother.

“Correct! Choerry’s team gets a point!” 

“You know about apoptosis?” Jinsol asks, astonished. She didn’t learn about that until briefly in late high school in a very advanced class, then in depth in college.

“Yes,” Choerry says with a smile, casual about it but completely humble. 

Jinsol’s immensely proud smile could light up the entire room.

Sooyoung rolls her eyes, huffing at the mother and daughter getting along so well. She looks over at her own daughter whose arms are crossed and is almost falling asleep. Sooyoung pokes Hyejoo roughly, causing her eyes to shoot open.

“Ow stop, stop.” Hyejoo says, swatting her mother away and sitting up.

“Pay attention, do you even want to win?” Sooyoung asks, earning a glare from Hyejoo in response.

“Which Stephen King novel takes place mostly in the fictional isolated hotel?” Sana asks looking out from the stage.

“HA! I know this one.” Sooyoung says as she takes the whiteboard from Hyejoo’s hands. Jinsol tries to write down an answer too, but she just isn’t quick enough. Sooyoung holds up the **The Shining** , causing Sana to squeal.

“Correct! Sooyoung’s team is now on the board!” She says, as Chaeyoung adds a point to their name.

“How did you guys even come up with these questions?” Irene asks, noticing the randomness of the topics being given.

“Oh, we made Momo sit down in a room for four hours and we just wrote down her thoughts.” Sana smiles fondly thinking of her wife. “She had a lot of them.”

“That’s a shock.” Sooyoung mumbles, remembering a time when Jiwoo told her about how Momo rear ended someone in the school parking lot yet again because she zoned out and forgot what she was doing. 

“Okay guys, How many hearts do octopuses have?” Sana asks.

“Oh yes yes. Choerry do you remember how many.” Jinsol says in a hushed voice.

“Yeah!” Choerry writes the number **3** down at the speed of light while munching on a breadstick and throws the whiteboard up.

“Yay! Jinsol’s team with a point! Good job!” Sana says excitedly.

“That question was stupid.” Sooyoung mumbles from her seat.

“No, I think that’s just you.” Jinsol smirks, and Sooyoung kicks her directly in the shin under the table causing Jinsol to shriek and Sana to pause in her questions.

“ _Mom_.” Olivia says in a low voice filled with anger. 

“Yes?” Sooyoung asks, as if Jinsol isn’t writing in pain. “Is there something you need?” 

“Jesus…” Choerry says trying to comfort her mother, as well as trying her hardest to settle the same unnerving feeling she got by her locker returning to her stomach.

“BARK BARK BARK BARK!” Yeojin starts screaming at the sight of another fight possibly breaking out.

“I’m fine. I’m fine.” Jinsol says, trying to stop the tears of pain from coming out of her eyes.

“Of course you are sweetie, because I didn’t do anything to you.” Sooyoung says, Olivia facepalms so hard, the slap causes Sooyoung to wince.

Instead of responding, Jinsol looks at her kid’s nervous face next to her. She could go for round two of Milf Smackdown right here and now with Sooyoung for making her daughter look so worried like this. However, Jinsol swallows her rage and instead pulls her legs toward her to sit criss crossed on her seat.

“Go ahead Sana! Everything’s alright!” Jinsol says, a tightlipped smile as she moves an arm to rub Choerry’s back.

“Ooookay… okay!” Sana says. Turning back to her bowl of questions, she continues, cautiously looking at the competitive women in front of her.

***

“Alright guys! We’re on the final round of questions and it looks like Sooyoung and Jinsol’s teams will be facing off! Haseul’s team was very close behind with an amazing comeback but unfortunately, they did not make it so everyone give them a round of applause for their efforts!” 

The audience claps and Haseul waves, while Yeojin dabs back and forth repeatedly. 

Both of them should not have even been close to being up for the second and third place gift cards, but with Haseul’s zany variety of planted questions like “What color is white?” and “What do chickens think we taste like?” It was easy for them to gather up points.

“We have this in the bag, I’ve beaten Jinsol before.” Sooyoung says to Hyejoo, as if that will somehow gain her child’s approval of her acting like a maniac. Hyejoo just shrugs, hoping if she ignores her mother than she’ll stop talking. 

“Because you cheated.” Jinsol states matter of factly, crossing her arms. 

“Hmm, don’t remember that.” Sooyoung responds matter-of-factly.

“Okay guys this round will actually only be for the kids so can we have you two come up to the stage please!” Sana gestures to Hyejoo and Choerry.

Frozen, neither Choerry or Hyejoo want to move. Jinsol looks at her daughter with beaming eyes and claps to cheer her on. Sooyoung however…

“Well go up there, didn’t you hear her?” 

Hyejoo’s jaw clenches, but Choerry pats her shoulder and nods at her. Hyejoo shakes off the urge to fight her mother in the middle of Heart Shakers Pizza Parlor and instead both middle schoolers make their way up to the stage while Yeri and Yeojin whoop encouragingly from their seats.

Sana hands both girls a bell and moves to the side of the stage.

“So, there will be three final questions for you guys to answer and whoever gets two out of three wins! Let’s get started.” Sana pulls out cards from her back pocket. 

The girls standing on the stage now are more nervous than they had been all night. Choerry was prepared to answer the questions as fast as possible in order to remove the immense pressure she feels on her shoulders from being suddenly put on the spot. She’s spoken in class before though, numerous times, so she is unsure why she all of a sudden feels so... strange from being in this situation. Hyejoo feels pressured too, except she just wants her mom to stop staring at her like a bloodthirsty animal.

“What is the name of the astrophysicist in the movie _Thor_?” 

Choerry rings the bell slightly quicker than Hyejoo, and Sana nods in her direction.

“Dr. Jane Foster!” Choerry says, and Sana gives her a thumbs up.

“Correct!” 

Jinsol applauds happily from her seat as Sooyoung exhales disapprovingly. “COME ON HYEJOO!” 

Hyejoo throws up her arms, as if asking her mother what she wants her to do about it. Sooyoung takes a breath, trying her best not to get out of hand. Well, maybe not her best, but she was at least attempting.

“Next question. When was the Atari 2600 released in the United States?”

“ARE YOU KIDDING?” Sooyoung screams from her seat. “THAT’S A STUPID ASS QUESTION WHAT KID WOULD KNOW-” Hyejoo rings the bell. 

“1977.” 

“Correct!” Sana exclaims, as Hyejoo lifts an eyebrow at her mother from the stage.

“Great question, I never said anything bad about that question.” Sooyoung says backtracking on her previous statement.

“Alright we are tied everyone... here is the final question,” Sana flips to the next card. “In which _Harry Potter_ movie does his owl die?”

Choerry looks over at Hyejoo, sure that she’s going to ring the bell immediately. She distinctly remembers a time when the raven-haired girl was in love with the Harry Potter books and movies in their elementary years. 

Hyejoo’s face falls instead though. Sooyoung had long since stopped taking her to _Harry Potter_ movies by the time the final ones came out.

Choerry remembers all the faces looking up at her on stage, and in a panic just rings the bell to answer it herself.

“The Deathly Hallows Part 1.” Choerry says.

“That’s right!” Sana cheers, and a disco ball unexplainably descends from the ceiling. The entire crowd is clapping and cheering, Choerry steps off the stage briefly to drag Jinsol by the arm, who laughs with pride, beaming at her daughter who is so smart she barely even needed her help at all. “You did amazing baby!” 

“ARE YOU SERIOUS HYEJOO?” Sooyoung yells loud enough to make the crowd go quiet. Jinsol and Choerry freeze on stage, and so does Hyejoo in shame and humiliation. 

It’s deathly quiet in the restaurant when Hyejoo bites her lip, and trudges off the stage wordlessly without even taking the prize.

Instead of returning to her mother, she sits in an empty seat by Principal Haseul, who offers her a high five and a _Great job!_ unlike her mother who has even more steam coming out of her nostrils at her daughter’s quiet act of defiance.

“WELL WE HAVE OUR WINNERS!” Sana disrupts the silence and holds up a $100 gift card which she hands to Choerry, then coming down from the stage a $50 gift card over to Hyejoo.

“Thank you everyone for coming! Irene, please follow me to receive your first place prize!” Sana says, motioning to the side of the stage near Chaeyoung. Irene follows, Yeri waving goodbye to her friends as she walks closely behind.

“Let’s go Hyejoo.” Sooyoung calls, already walking towards the door. Hyejoo sighs deeply, but before she can move Choerry reaches out to her. 

“Will you be okay?” Choerry asks with overflowing concern in her eyes.

“HYEJOO, I SAID LET’S GO! NOW!” Sooyoung yells, and some customers contemplate calling CPS. Hyejoo begins to scurry off in her direction.

“I gotta go. I’ll… I’ll see you guys later.” Hyejoo finishes waving to her friends forcing a smile, then exits with her mother, looking terribly afraid as she leaves the restaurant. Jinsol watches with sad eyes.

“Great job nerd.” Yeojin says, patting Choerry on the back and smiling. “We’re going halves on the gift card okay.” 

Choerry grins and lifts the gift card into the air, too high for Yeojin to reach. “Mmmm I don’t think so.” 

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN!” Yeojin jumps, trying to get Choerry to lower her arms but all Choerry does is laugh. 

“Yeojin, please stop harassing Choerry we have to leave.” Haseul says, causing Jinsol to immediately spin around and look at her daughter protectively.

“IS SHE HURTING YOU. BACK AWAY.” Jinsol points a finger at Yeojin, who’s hands go up in surrender.

“Mom stop we were just playing-” 

“THAT’S WHAT THEY ALL SAY.” Jinsol’s voice is stern and loud now.

“That’s what who all say?” Choerry questions.

“YEOJIN ARE YOU HURTING HER?” Haseul screams louder than necessary.

“LITERALLY WHAT DID I DO?” Yeojin yells back.

“OKAY WE’RE LEAVING BYE YEOJIN I’LL TEXT YOU BYE PRINCIPAL HASEUL I’LL TEXT YOU TOO BEST FRIEND!” Choerry waves at the Jos and drags her mother away outside.

They stumble out into the cool night air together, happy.

“Well that was fun, huh?” Jinsol asks as they start making their way to the Tesla in a nearby parking space. 

Choerry thinks the night over in her head. Even though she was afraid her Auntie Sooyoung might throw a punch at any point in the night… Choerry knows this was ten times better than _anything_ Nayeon could’ve pulled together.

And, she realized just how much she missed being with her mom.

“Yeah mom,” Choerry smiles at her in the golden light of the lamps above. “It was really fun.”

That night, she sits shotgun. Jinsol and Choerry sing the whole way home.

***

“What the hell was that?” Sooyoung asks her daughter as they get into the Mercedes. Hyejoo doesn’t speak, but instead climbs in the back seat and reaches up to slam the upward-opening door closed forcefully.

 _“Hello?_ I asked you a question.” Sooyoung looks in her rearview mirror, but only sees Hyejoo putting on her airpods. Yves turns around, prepared to scold even more, but then she sees Hyejoo’s face.

Her cheeks are burning red, eyebrows crumpled downward in a heart sunken expression. She looks out the window, where her eyes glisten ever so slightly that if Sooyoung didn’t know any better, she’d think she was on the verge of crying.

“Hyejoo…” Sooyoung starts, but Hyejoo’s eyes snap forward to look at Sooyoung directly in the eyes.

“I’m sleeping. Stop talking to me.” 

With that, Hyejoo turns back to the window, not even attempting to close her eyes and pretend she actually is sleeping. 

Sooyoung blinks.

At the sight of her truly saddened daughter, starts to realize just how she had just gone crazy over a stupid Trivia Night. And for what? A fifty dollar gift card? 

She would’ve been fine if Jinsol hadn’t shown up. That woman was just so aggravating, she can’t _help_ but remember what she had done to her first car without ever apologizing, or how she wanted to bully her until she cried. 

But as Sooyoung takes another look in the rear view mirror, she grips the steering wheel, beginning to feel… guilty.

Although she took one step forward by taking time out of her busy schedule to accompany Hyejoo at Trivia Night, she took two, ten, a _million_ steps back with the way she acted tonight.

_That was bad._

She put the keys into the ignition, bringing the luxury vehicle to life. Slowly, Sooyoung pulled out of the driveway and began their drive home, hoping to God that Jiwoo wouldn’t be too mad at her for ruining the day. 

Again.

***

When Sooyoung’s Mercedes finally pulls into the Ha estate, Hyejoo runs inside the second the car engine shuts off, bolting straight to her room. 

Sooyoung walks slowly to their front door of their modern mansion, still feeling remnants of guilt weighing down on her body.

Upon crossing the threshold, she places her keys in the diamond encrusted bowl and removes her Louboutins, holding them by her fingers as she pads over to the kitchen.

If there’s anything Sooyoung needs other than a hug from her wife, it’s a glass of wine.

She’s pouring herself a small glass of $225,000 Chateau Margaux when she hears the phone ring from her office far down one of the corridors of the first floor, nearly in their virtually unused west wing. No one calls her on that line unless it’s important.

Setting down her glass, she walks over through the long dark hallway. Flicking on the light to her oversized home office, the phone blares loudly on her long desk of polished wood, matching the dark tones that accentuate the office. The CEO crosses the cold black marble floor of the large room to pick up the phone. She notices number on the display screen is not registered as a contact.

“Good evening this is Sooyoung Ha, who am I speaking with?” 

_“Hello Sooyoung.”_

The CEO’s blood freezes over when she immediately recognizes the voice on the other end of the line. Involuntarily, she stands up straight.

“Mother?”

 _“Sooyoung. Hello.”_ The older woman says dryly, almost as if not even wanting to have called. _“I just wanted to ask what your plans were for Thanksgiving.”_

“How did you get this number?” Sooyoung snaps, resentment spreading throughout her body.

 _“It was in the books. You should really be more careful about that, just anyone could call you.”_ Her mother says, as if she had ever expressed care enough to contact Sooyoung besides asking for money over the past fifteen or so years.

“Why are you calling me. Did my deposit not go through?” 

 _“Are you having trouble hearing already Sooyoung? I called to ask about Thanksgiving. The two of us wanted to see if you wanted to bring Hyejoo so she could have a chance to meet her grandparents.”_ The older woman says nonchalantly with a thick Korean accent. 

No mention of Jiwoo. Sooyoung is anything but surprised. 

“Is my wife allowed to come too? Or have you forgotten she exists?” The CEO snaps bitterly into the phone. 

The other end of the line is silent for a beat, but a seemingly strenuous breath is taken before her mother speaks again. _“You can bring Hyejoo.”_

Sooyoung’s nostrils flare at the erasure. “We are _married_ mother. She is my _wife._ Which I wouldn’t expect you to remember, considering the both of you completely ignored my wedding,” she retaliates. “We are a _family.”_

 _“It’s not the same,”_ Sooyoung’s mother hums casually into the phone.

Sooyoung’s blood begins to boil over. “It’s more of a family than-” She stops herself, barely. _Than you ever gave me._

 _“I’m sorry, what was that Sooyoung?”_ Her mother challenges.

“Why are you sending our daughter things in the mail.” Sooyoung flares, changing the subject.

 _“It’s not the child’s fault for her parents’ abnormalities.”_ Her mother states clearly into the phone.

Sooyoung pulls the phone away from ear in pain, fighting the urge to just slam it down and block the number right then and there. But she forces herself to respond. “I provide you both with money whenever you ask for it, even though have been anything but supportive of me- Yet you think you can come into _my_ life and send _my_ daughter whatever you want because my _‘decisions’_ are not her fault?” 

 _“She should know her grandparents,”_ the other woman states simply, not commenting on anything else. _“You know I’m right.”_ She taunts ominously.

“You listen to me,” the billionaire says venomously. “You are going to stay the _hell_ away from my family. If you even attempt in the slightest manner to make contact with our daughter again, or myself outside of our financial arrangement, I will press charges. You can count on it.” Sooyoung snaps, and without even waiting for a response, she hangs up. 

Sooyoung takes a deep shaky breath in the dark office, gripping the sides of her wooden desk with closed eyes as she processes the blood-curdling conversation she just had.

She could definitely use that drink now.

***

Sooyoung enters her and her wife’s excessively large master bedroom. 

Half of their room is elevated up, with a small staircase on the right end to ascend into an unnecessarily giant, luxuriously padded bed. The obsidian wall separating the upper and lower halves of the room is home to an eternally blazing flame on the inside, visible through a thin glass window that horizontally spans the length of the wall. 

The other half of the room is simply for lounging, with a dark sofa, hanging flat screen, and desk by the fireplace for when one of them wanted to work but couldn’t resist being near the other. On the lower side of the halves, a glass wall is put into place to enjoy their lush nature, which sits adjacent to entrances to their walk-in closets and an exceptionally lavish circular bathroom. 

They could stay in their beautiful room forever, and over the years they’ve definitely been tempted to time and time again.

From across the room on higher elevation, she sees Jiwoo knitting peacefully like she’s 85 in the power couple’s massive white bed.

“Hi honey!” the celebrity chirps lovingly. “What do you think of this?” she asks with childlike enthusiasm, gesturing to the large material stemming from her hands. “It was supposed to be a scarf, but I didn’t want to stop knitting so now it’s a blanket.” 

Sooyoung softens at the endearing sight, despite the insurmountable stress she feels. “I love it,” she responds honestly with an endearing smile.

The CEO notices Jiwoo is wearing one of their favorite couple’s pajamas in silky pink, so she disappears into her walk-in closet next door to find the other pair to wear to bed. 

When she returns back inside with a freshly washed face after her extensive nightly skin care routine, pajamas in hand, Sooyoung crosses over to the end of the room and climbs the five little stairs to meet her wife at the bed. The taller woman rests the sleeping wear on the bed and begins to strip out of her normal clothes.

Jiwoo’s eyes perk up from her project at the sight of Sooyoung baring her unblemished milky skin as she pulls off her shirt and removes her bra. “Hubba hubba,” Jiwoo says provacatively in a lower tone, biting her lip softly. 

Sooyoung looks unaffected, as she slides on the silky pants. She scoffs a little just to humor her wife. Jiwoo can tell something is on her mind.

As Sooyoung lifts their covers to come into bed, Jiwoo is officially concerned. “What’s wrong baby?” 

Sooyoung crawls under the white covers with a frown, and Jiwoo puts her knitting on the bedside table. The CEO comes closer, and turns sideways to lay her head in her wife’s warm lap. 

Jiwoo gently runs her fingers through Sooyoung’s smooth black hair to ease her beloved’s tension. “Tell me what’s wrong honeybear,” she says softly.

Everyone else on this planet would cringe at the sappy nickname, but Sooyoung can physically feel her heart swell with love. The CEO sighs, letting herself loosen, but the disturbing sudden encounters with her parents _on top_ of the guilt from Trivia Night still linger on her mind. “They called.”

Jiwoo furrows her eyebrows, knowing exactly who her wife is referring to. “What?” She stops stroking through her hair out of alarm.

“Yes,” Sooyoung breathes quietly with closed eyes. “And… They also sent something in the mail. For Hyejoo.” She shakes her head in disbelief. 

Jiwoo resumes playing with her wife’s hair to continue calming her as she discusses this difficult matter, and listens attentively.

“I don’t even know how they got our real address. Or my office phone number.” Sooyoung tuts in immense irritation. “She wants me to bring our daughter over to them for Thanksgiving, can you believe that?” Jiwoo then thinks she catches a noise reminiscent of a _GRRrr._

The international superstar massages her wife’s scalp carefully, but Sooyoung’s eyes are shut in troubling thoughts. “Hey,” Jiwoo moves her hand to brush over her wife’s cheek comfortingly with her thumb. 

“I’m scared, Wooming.” Sooyoung admits, ever so quietly, still with closed eyes. 

“Honey, we’ll just tell them to screen them out of our mail,” Jiwoo says calmly.

“That’s not what I’m afraid of.” Sooyoung replies, leaning into Jiwoo’s warm touch. “They know where we live. What if they… _God,_ what if they just show up?” 

“Pssh. Let them,” Jiwoo dismisses nonchalantly. “Then I can finally choke them out!” 

(Jiwoo is long past her wife’s parents despising her. Her own parents love her, hell, the entire _world_ loves her, so she could care less about their senile close mindedness upon their marriage - especially after they made Sooyoung’s childhood more of a living hell than it already was on its own.)

“Who’s the milf smacking down now,” Sooyoung giggles, eliciting laughs from her wife as well. 

“Shut up, I’m still mad at you.” Jiwoo says, convincing literally no one. 

“Also,” Jiwoo continues gently. “We do have the best bodyguard in America. Remember when we watched her win Olympic gold in wrestling?”

Sooyoung nods; she has a point, they didn’t hire the one and only Eunseo Son full-time for nothing. “True.” The CEO exhales hard again. “I just can’t believe they’re sending Hyejoo things.”

“You know, we can get hitmen. We’re rich enough.” Jiwoo muses.

Sooyoung rolls her eyes in amusement and snuggles into her wife’s hips. “Stop,” she laughs. (It’s true though.)

“Sooyoungie,” Jiwoo coos softly, looking down in her lap and cradling her wife’s head. “They can’t hurt us,” she says seriously, rubbing her thumb over Sooyoung’s cheek. “You know what they say on Twitter?”

“What?” Sooyoung turns away from her wife’s body to meet her eyes.

“They say, _‘No cops at Pride! Just Chuu and her sword!’”_

Sooyoung’s eyes turn into little crescents as she laughs, and it’s the kind of laugh Jiwoo fell in love with all those years ago - her _real_ one, bunny teeth and all. 

Jiwoo’s delicate fingers tuck stray strands of hair behind Sooyoung’s ears, and she leans down to kiss her beautiful wife’s lips. “I love you,” she whispers, in which Sooyoung quickly returns with a smile as her eyes flutter open.

“Now come on,” the celebrity pushes the CEO gently out of her lap. “Let’s go to bed.” 

Sooyoung sits up and rubs her eyes in fatigue. 

Jiwoo is right. Even though the thought of her parents terrifies her, her family is practically untouchable. Jiwoo always knows how to put all her fears to bed.

The celebrity hits a switch at their bedside, and the lights slowly dim to blackness. Jiwoo comes closer to her wife and cups her soft cheeks for one last goodnight kiss, because she loves her wife but also the smell of Sooyoung’s $2,720 jasmine moisturizing cream with gold flakes that she uses every night. 

“How did that Trivia Night go?” Jiwoo asks in the near darkness, only the fire under their bed casting a bit of warm light away from their elevated side of the room. “Did you two have a good time?”

Sooyoung snuggles under her sheets and pulls her wife’s body closer to her. “It was…” she cringes a little, remembering the events of the night. “A time.”

Jiwoo hums lowly and disapprovingly. “You’re lucky I’m tired because I know that can’t be good.”

Sooyoung can still make out her wife’s face in the darkness in front of her, and tucks some hair behind her ear. “Don’t worry my love, I’ll fix it.”

“Mmm,” Jiwoo mumbles, and within a minute she is already snoring softly. 

Sooyoung’s heart swells at the sight of how cute she looks. Laying on her side next to her, she carefully moves to hold her in her arms, a sleeping Jiwoo snug at her chest. And just like that, limbs tangled together and affectionate as ever, they fall asleep - oblivious to their daughter crying in embarrassment in her room.

***

The next day, Choerry walks into the dimly lit girls locker room at the side of the gym.

It’s been almost 24 hours since the student council president had decided Nayeon’s menacing order to ditch her new friends. And Choerry hadn’t seen her vice president around all day. _Weird._

_A little too weird._

However, the pink-haired eighth grader had definitely been ignoring Nayeon. At lunch with the gang, Choerry positioned herself out of view from her old table’s window. Since the two had no classes in common _(thank God),_ Choerry was fortunately able to avoid any mandatory interaction.

Correction: the two had no _core_ classes in common.

Choerry and Nayeon still had Gym together.

The eighth grader walks through the mostly vacant locker room. Choerry was always one of the last people to get dressed, due to how far her previous class was from the gym. 

The dreary room is divided into portions separated by rows of bright yellow lockers, and Choerry makes her way to hers. “Hey guys,” she greets the other girls who are changing in her row, a little too uneasy-sounding for her own comfort. The girls return the greeting with casual, friendly smiles.

Choerry is opening up her locker, pulling out her blue gym uniform shorts and shirt when she hears it.

“She is so fucking _stupid,_ I swear to God!” 

It’s Nayeon’s voice, and it’s coming from the next row of lockers behind hers. Choerry’s head perks up, and her heart stops. The comment is immediately followed by plentiful giggles from what sounds like five or six girls, maybe more. 

“Like… I knew she was… _Weird_ when I first started hanging out with her. You know what I mean.” 

 _Yeah, yeah,_ the other girls say just as naturally as leaves follow the current down a stream. And it hurts.

Choerry clenches her jaw and leans a bit into her locker, head heavy and unsure of what exactly to do in this moment. The other girls around her seem to be carrying on, curious as to who the subject of Nayeon’s rant is. Until-

“And just last month she asked me for help taking down and folding the school flag! Like, _come on_ Choerry!”

Choerry’s blood runs cold, as what she already knew to be true is confirmed. The other girls have now stopped what they’re doing, and their eyes are all on the subject of Nayeon’s rant. She feels her entire body become hot despite the cool room temperature, and sweat beginning to generate behind her neck.

The feeling makes Choerry want to disappear into the floor and never come out for as long as she lives.

“I helped her obviously because, you know, I’m a good person. But who doesn’t know how to do something as simple as that? I mean,” Nayeon scoffs. “I’ve honestly, like, never met a dumber person in my life.”

Choerry’s fingers clench painfully hard on her gym locker door. She remembers this day clearly; it was her first day on the job, and on top of that Nayeon definitely did not help at all. In fact, Choerry was late to her first morning class because she had to figure it out on her own, while Nayeon attempted to sunbathe in the grass.

“You know I didn’t think she could get any stupider, but then she ditched my party last night for that group of _freaks._ You know, our fucking wack ass principal’s daughter, the wannabe pop stars and that Hyejoo, who _seriously_ belongs in a psych ward for depression.” 

The other girls laugh cruelly again, and Choerry’s breath hitches as she struggles to be the bigger person and ignore the awful words. But Nayeon’s tirade is far from over.

“I mean come on. Who the fuck does she think she is. I _tried_ to save her from stooping to their level, I _swear._ But I guess she’s even slower than I thought,” Nayeon chortles lowly. “And she doesn’t even know what’s best for her,” Nayeon says with a pitiful sigh. 

_What’s BEST for me?_

“You guys want me to be completely honest with you?”

“Yes!” The surrounding girls chime in eagerly from over the wall, as the other girls in Choerry’s row still look expectantly at the pink-haired girl, whose throat feels painfully hollow as she looks back at them.

All the memories the two share in Choerry’s mind circle the drain - Choerry helping Nayeon campaign for student council, almost focusing on the other girl more than herself. Choerry being at her beckoning call for years. Choerry, foolishly fantasizing of truly being best friends forever.

“I’m _glad_ she’s out of my life,” Nayeon finishes confidently. “She may be the president and I can’t do anything about that. But I only kept her around as my friend because I felt _bad_ for her! Like anyone else would take her in...” 

Tears rise to Choerry’s eyes as the harsh words cut slice right across her heart like the crack of a merciless whip. The girls in her row are still silent and unmoving, just watching. (Acquaintances, not friends.)

No matter how desperately she wants to believe that what Nayeon is saying is a lie, just an exaggeration out of anger, she realizes now that she needs to acknowledge that her words hold a heavy, obvious truth that Choerry was too openhearted and naive to see. 

Nayeon was never the friend Choerry had let herself believe she was. 

The pink-haired girl feels that familiar feeling in her stomach again, the awful feeling and she feels like her entire world has grown cold and begun to dismantle itself right in front of her.

She turns to the other girls in her row who are looking back at her in anticipation. They don’t have to say a thing; Choerry can hear it.

_Aren’t you gonna do something?_

There’s only one person who can make this right. She can’t sit here at cry behind her locker door, can’t look around expectantly for someone else to be her hero right now - not when the other girls are waiting for her to be her own champion.  

Choerry is ignited with rage, slams her locker door hard, then storms over the dividing wall of lockers to the daunting other side as her heart thunders violently in her chest.

And then all of them, Dahyun, Jeongyeon, even more girls than she thought, look up at her, like deer in headlights. Nayeon stands with her back turned, until she whips her head around and meets Choerry’s eyes. Her jaw falls open, eyes widened in panic.

“C-Choerry-” the taller stutters, suddenly not as brave as she was before.

“What the fuck is your problem Nayeon?” Choerry snaps venomously, and the girls from her row come to watch. The president’s hands are balled into fists as she throws every limit she’s ever placed on her vocabulary out of the window. “You’re so threatened by me wanting to spend time with people other than you that you have to talk shit just to feel better about yourself?”

Nayeon lets out a hollow laugh in panic, smiling fearfully. “Choerry-”

“Maybe if you weren’t such a _bitch_ all the time, I wouldn’t have wanted to stop being around you,” Choerry fumes. “All you do is make me feel bad about myself. What kind of friend is that?”

Choerry scoffs and suddenly remembers the rest of Nayeon’s comments minutes ago.

“You call them freaks, but they’re better friends to me than you ever were.” Choerry straightens herself for a dizzy second then fires back again. “They don’t talk about me behind my back. They don’t _use_ me. They don’t _make comments about my weight.”_ She hisses the last words so fervently and Nayeon panics even more as the other girls around her look at her in shock. 

“They’re good to me, and-and- being with them is like a breath of fresh air from _you.”_

“Oh boo hoo,” Nayeon rolls her eyes, seemingly unscathed. “They’ll get bored of you soon enough.”

Regardless of the fear those words cause to suddenly bubble up to the surface, Choerry refuses to back down. She can’t be afraid, not now.

“And calling me stupid? _Really_ Nayeon? Last time I checked, you’re the one asking for help on homework every night. And you know, maybe you’d get it if your head wasn’t so _far up your ass.”_  

Nayeon’s jaw visibly shifts, and her nostrils flare. She chuckles harshly, glaring down right into Choerry’s eyes. “You’re going to fucking regret _ever_ speaking to me like that.”

Choerry falters for a split second, recognizing the reality of the situation. Nayeon was dangerous, and Choerry knew that. But she was tired of constant fear, the constant worry about what Nayeon and everyone around her thought. She was supposed to have left that behind along with her old friends.

“Do whatever the hell you want to me Nayeon.” Choerry says cooly, challenging the taller girl in front of her. “I don’t care.”

Nayeon closes her locker suddenly and takes a few steps forward, now directly in front of Choerry and towering over her. The corner of her mouth turns up into a smirk, causing Choerry to feel the pull in her stomach that she had ignored out of anger. 

“Oh, I don’t think you should be too worried about yourself Choerry.” Nayeon resting a hand on Choerry’s shoulder abnormally softly. “But it’s great to know that I have your permission.”

With that, Nayeon calmly picks up her granola bar that was sitting on the bench adjacent to her locker, and walks off to the gym entrance leaving Choerry trying to suppress her shaking from the adrenaline rush.

The student body president doesn’t understand at all what happens next. Despite every point Choerry made, but Dahyun, Jeongyeon, and the rest of the girls all scurry off to follow Nayeon, without a single word said to Choerry even though she clearly bested her in that fight.

Choerry is still shaking. And she’s not sure if it’s just the horrible taste in her throat - but the sounds of Nayeon’s ominous last words ringing and repeating in her ear make Choerry feel like she’s about to vomit.

***

“Look who finally decided to show up!” Yeojin yells from across the gymnasium, oblivious, as Choerry makes her way to her friends. The room is loud with students’ chatter and squeaking shoes reverberating through the air.  

“Where were you?” Chaewon asks, Hyejoo at her side. (Yeri, unfortunately, has gym during a different period.)

“Um,” Choerry tries to regain her perfect composure and return to her normal self. “My other class ran late!” she lies, trying to erase the fight in the locker room from her mind as every passing minute seems to convince her more and more that it just made everything worse, that she should’ve just let herself be bullied.

“Well you’re just in time to see Bellatrix Lestrange kiss ass,” Yeojin says, nodding over to Nayeon, who is approaching their unoccupied gym teacher with the granola bar Choerry saw her pick up earlier. “She’s such a clown,” Yeojin laughs.

“It’s this new and super effective protein bar!” They hear Nayeon loudly tell Coach Wonho. “I saw it and immediately thought, ‘Coach Wonho would LOVE this.’” The tall eighth grader says kissing up, batting her eyelashes as the man graciously takes the bar from her and opens it to take a bite.

“Wow, thanks Nayeon! That’s very thoughtful of you!” Wonho says, chomping on the bar. 

“No problem Coach! Anything for you!” Nayeon gives a sweet, girly smile before walking back to a larger group of girls.

“Gross.” Hyejoo crinkles her nose.

Yeojin does too. “What, she’s trying to hit on Coach Wonho now? That’s disgusting, especially with the age gap.” 

“You literally hit on every woman over the age of 30.” Chaewon deadpans, making Hyejoo chuckle, Choerry managing to laugh a bit despite not being able to shake the uneasiness that’s manifested in both her body and mind. 

“That’s different because I actually have a shot.” Yeojin asserts to Chaewon. “WAIT- WAIIIT, WOAH WOAH WOAH, OLIVIA-”

“What.”

“ARE THOSE…” Yeojin looks starstruck, and points at the other girl’s new black sneakers. “YEEZYS?!?!” 

Hyejoo looks down, having forgotten she was wearing them. “Oh. Yeah.” They are, indeed, the newest model of Kanye West’s line of ridiculously overpriced sneakers. “My mom got them for me,” Hyejoo tuts and rolls her eyes, and the three other girls know immediately which mother she’s referring to. “She thinks these can just make up for Trivia Night.” 

From her good friend Kanye, Sooyoung had said to her daughter. “They’re even signed.” Hyejoo kicks a sneaker up to show the dramatic signatures on one shoe, then the other, and Yeojin screams loud enough to break the sound barrier.

“Okay guys!” Coach Wonho says, walking to the center of the gym with a giant burlap sack after inhaling Nayeon’s protein bar. “I’m sure you guys have already heard from the other classes, but today’s game is dodgeball!” 

Wonho pours out massive rubber red balls from the bag, and the students chatter excitedly. 

“Let’s do team captains today in order to pick our teams… let’s have, hmm, Nayeon and…” Wonho scans the room.

“Choerry,” Nayeon assists the teacher with an innocent smile, then turns to look Choerry square in the face, shooting ice through her veins yet again.

“Choerry! Yes, why not.” 

Choerry can think of a million reasons why not.

But, again, she wants to be brave, and everyone’s watching, so she walks up to take her place at the front a safe distance away from her maniac of an ex best friend.

“Go ahead and pick your teams. Nayeon, you start,” Wonho says with a smile.

“Jeongyeon.”

“What the fuck Nayeon?” Dahyun’s mouth drops open in betrayal at not being picked first. Jeongyeon passes her and palms Dahyun’s entire face with her hand to shove her back as she joins Nayeon in the front.

Choerry clears her throat. “Yeojin.” 

“Expected, I’m the best one out here.” Yeojin stands around Choerry.

“Dahyun. I guess.”

“Olivia.”

“Mark.”

“Chae.”

Both girls list off classmates until there is no one left. Once the teams are established, the teams move to their respective end lines and Wonho places all the rubber balls on line at half court.

As Nayeon saunters to a position, a blonde girl on her team named Elly runs up to her and tugs her arm. “Nayeon,” she whispers hushedly, “I don’t wanna do this anymore- It’s- It’s not right,”

Nayeon looks her up and down and thrusts her arm away from her grip. “Stop being a little bitch Elly. If you don’t do this, I’ll make sure something _worse_ happens to you. _”_ the taller girl threatens, and Elly is terror-stricken. She nods compliantly, and reluctantly runs back to her position.

Coach Wonho clears his throat from the bleachers, the muscular man settling into a seat with his clipboard in hand. “You all know the rules!” He’s about to blow his whistle to signal start when he notices Jeongyeon sitting next to him blowing bubbles of gum.

“Jeongyeon, aren’t you on Nayeon’s team?” 

The short-haired girl chews for a few silent seconds before coughing very unrealistically.

“I’m sick.” She says in the most monotone voice he’s ever heard.

Wonho’s eyebrows crinkle in confusion but just decides to not deal with it. Instead, he blows the whistle. The kids bolt forward.

Choerry races towards the rubber balls as fast as she can, quickly outrunning everyone on her team due to her natural athletic ability. She reaches the line before most kids, swiping balls to her side of the court for her team.

Another girl on Nayeon’s team hurls a ball toward Choerry, forcing the pink-haired girl to bend backwards in order to dodge. The ball misses her by only a few inches.

“Were you in the fucking Matrix or something? That was dramatic as hell.” Yeojin says from behind her, blocking balls from hitting her with the one she had in hand.

Then, as sudden and unpredictable as a lightning strike, a ball zooms faster than any other to Choerry’s team and almost slams Chaewon in the face. The little blonde dodges it, just barely. 

 _“Relax!”_ Hyejoo shouts fiercely over the half-court line, alarmed at how intensely hard the ball would have hit Chaewon if it had made intended contact.

And from over the line, Choerry swears she can hear Nayeon say to the unfamiliar boy who threw the ball - 

_“Not yet.”_

The comment is so unfathomably ominous, Choerry starts to wonder if she was just hearing things.

But what if she wasn’t?

_Not yet for what?_

Before Choerry even has time to think, the whistle abruptly blows from Coach Wonho on the bleachers. All students are now turned to their teacher, who is now clutching his stomach with a feverish expression. Wonho, sweating profusely, struggles to walk.

“Um-” he interrupts himself with a loud belch and struggles to catch his breath. “I don’t feel well everybody… I’m- I’m going to go to the bathr-” Wonho’s hand jumps to cover his mouth, and all but one of the kids gasp. “Bathroom,” he finishes shakily. “I’m going to the bathroom. Please... Do not play until someone arrives-” he barely coughs out before abandoning the eighth graders the gymnasium, unsupervised.

Jeongyeon watches from her seat as the teacher becomes out of sight. “All clear,” she shouts, looking into the hallway.

“Good. Come here.” Nayeon says from across the court.

“Nah.” Jeongyeon says bluntly. “I was never here,” she states, and walks out into the hallway with no further explanation, leaving Nayeon dumbfounded for a beat. 

She composes herself though, and turns back to Choerry on the other team, frozen.

“He’ll only be vomiting for a few minutes.” Nayeon projects her voice as she addresses the other classmates in the gym, a sudden sternness in her voice resembling that of a battle commander. “What are you all waiting for?” 

Choerry looks at Hyejoo by her side in confusion, who is giving the same emotion right back. The pink haired girl is about to turn her head to look at Yeojin when two of her own teammates suddenly grab her arms from behind.

“WH- _Get off!”_ Choerry thrashes at the sudden unwanted restraint, unable to overpower her classmates without hurting them. “What are you doing?!” Life before her eyes is moving fast, almost nightmarishly so, and Choerry has no idea what is going on.

The classmate restraining her on her right Yeji, looks at her with apologetic eyes. “I’m sorry Choerry,” she says, almost on the verge of tears. “She’s just so scary.”

Choerry’s heart is booming so hard that she’s afraid she may pass out from fear. She looks around to the rest of the gymnasium to see that Hyejoo and Yeojin have also been restrained.

“IF YOU DON’T GET THE HELL OFF OF ME RIGHT NOW! I SWEAR TO GOD! I’LL FILE FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT _AND THEN_ SEND THE MAFIA AFTER YOUR SORRY ASSES!” Yeojin screams, trying to wriggle from her own captors moving in the same direction.

“GOD GET THE FUCK OFF ME.” Hyejoo is yelling, doing her best to fight off the other students, but there are just too many of them, the rest of the students Choerry chose to be on her team now helping to keep them all down. Hyejoo and Yeojin are dragged to opposite sides of the gymnasium.

Chaewon stands alone, at the center of the court.

The tiny blonde looks to the menacing athletic kids on the other side of the court, now picking up the hard dodgeballs off the floor. Chaewon’s breath hitches in panic, looks around the room for protection or escape, and moves to bolt to the exit when a hand roughly grabs the collar of her shirt.

“Nuh uh uh!” It’s Nayeon. “I think you’re going to stay,” she whispers with a twisted grin growing on her face.

“CHAE!” Hyejoo shouts from the sidelines with her arms tangled in her classmates’, all holding her down with themselves. “HELP! HELP PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP,” Hyejoo screams at the top of her lungs, louder than most of them have ever heard her speak.

“Shut her up,” Nayeon sneers. “Someone might hear us. Tiny is going to be loud enough.” 

A girl’s hand suddenly clamps over Hyejoo’s mouth, muffling her cries for help as she struggles but fails to break free.

“YOU EVIL FUCKING BITCH!” Yeojin screams, before another eighth grader does the same to her. Choerry breathes heavily to fight the tears rising, and the attack hasn’t even begun.

Nayeon grins in her direction, while Choerry looks with tear-filled vision at the monster in front of her. “Don’t,” she pleads, but it only makes Nayeon laugh harshly in response.

“You did this Choerry!” Nayeon tilts her head pitifully. “Don’t worry,” she cooes. “We’re just gonna play some dodgeball.” 

The vice president releases her iron grip on Chaewon’s shirt, only to say “Don’t move, or you’ll make it worse for yourself.” 

Nayeon returns to her side of the court where almost all of her team remain, red dodgeballs in hand. Chaewon makes fearful eye contact with her friends, with Choerry. 

“I’m so sorry,” Choerry can only mouth to the little blonde who shakes in the center of the room.

And easily as ever, Nayeon waves a hand to signal them off. 

Instantly, the large eighth graders hurl all their balls directly at Chaewon. She somehow is able to maneuver herself to dodge the first few, but not for very long. 

A boy from the basketball team canons a rock hard ball straight at Chaewon’s head, knocking her down roughly to the floor, as her ears ring. 

Hyejoo screams deafeningly under her classmates hand at the sight, and tears flow down her cheeks.

Despite Chaewon already being close to incapacitation on the floor, the cruel attack does not cease one bit, the strength of the balls being thrown only increasing in force.

Yeojin bites the hand on her mouth, causing the perpetrator to scream in pain. “NAYEON YOU FUCKING PSYCHOPATH! STOP THIS SHIT! SHE’S ALREADY ON THE FLOOR!” Yeojin screams, trying her hardest to break free out of their captivity.

Chaewon is now in a fetal position on the gym floor, hands over head to protect herself as dodgeballs collide hard with her body, hard enough to leave bruises for weeks. A ball strikes her in the back, making her winded. 

 _“P-Please stop! Please,”_ she begs softly with a tight chest, unable to speak any louder. No one hears. Only Choerry from her angle can see the words leave her mouth, and tears flowing down the blonde’s cheeks. Nayeon continues to canon her own dodgeballs at the girl on the floor. 

And when one even harder than the rest strikes, Chaewon sobs out heart wrenchingly in pain.

Something snaps inside of Hyejoo in that very moment, at the sound of the cry of the girl she loves. And just like a movie, the raven-haired girl feels newfound adrenaline somehow roar through her entire body. 

Hyejoo bites the palm over her mouth and headbuts the eighth grader behind her before he can cry out in pain, removing his grip on her as his hands rush to grasp his broken nose. The enraged girl’s arms are now free, and she swings at the remaining students who try to hold her down. 

Dahyun winds up, sending another rock hard ball flying Chaewon’s way as the little girl braces herself yet again for another winding impact. 

This time, Hyejoo is there to stop it.

She catches the ball effortlessly, making the entire gym go silent. Before anyone can do a single thing about it, Hyejoo blasts the ball directly back at Dahyun’s face. The impact is the hardest one in the gym so far, knocking Dahyun to the ground, completely unconscious.

Nayeon and her team stand like sitting ducks, frozen. 

“Holy shit,” Yeojin barely says before Hyejoo methodically retrieves every ball thrown at Chaewon at a breakneck pace and sends them back to the other team violently. She makes all of her shots; and everyone hit is knocked down to the floor.

As if not wanting the rampaging girl in the court to do the same to them, the classmates begin to release their grip from Choerry and Yeojin. Both girls immediately run to Chaewon on the floor.

“Chae? Chae are you okay?!” Yeojin calls, panicked. Chaewon is unmoving from her protective position. Tears stain Choerry’s cheeks even more upon seeing her usually energetic and optimistic friend nearly lifeless on the floor. 

Both girls’ attention is on Chaewon until they hear Nayeon make her worst mistake.

“You’re crazy, Hyejoo,” she laughs evilly, a little out of breath from somehow dodging every shot Hyejoo’s thrown at her. She giggles confidently.

“Crazy, just like your _mom.”_

Hyejoo’s ears begin to ring, as her eyes go wide in disbelief. 

Nearly everyone in the gymnasium stops breathing.

Hyejoo drops the red ball in her hand, letting it bounce to the squeaky floor and roll far away from her. Nayeon smirks in victory, letting her head fall to the side triumphantly.

Until Hyejoo is stomping straight toward the other girl on the other side of the court, Nayeon’s smile fading away.

Hyejoo yanks her directly by the collar of her shirt, and she socks Nayeon in the face. _Hard._

Nayeon crumples to the floor covering her face, but it doesn’t stop Hyejoo who begins to swing at her again and again, back and forth, the evil vice president crying out in pain beneath her.

 _“Oli!”_ Chaewon says weakly from across the room, barely able to hold herself up, needing Yeojin and Choerry’s assistance. “Oli, stop,” she begs. “Please...”

As if her soul was returned to her body, Hyejoo releases Nayeon, who writhes on the floor. 

Nayeon’s lip is bleeding profusely as she turns her head to look back up at her _. “You really are.”_  

The words haunt Hyejoo, but she picks a battered Nayeon up roughly just to throw her back to the ground. _“Suck my dick.”_

Hyejoo rushes over to the girl she loves the most, who looks awful with teary eyes. Her hands instinctively go to cup her bruised face.

“I-I’m fine, I’m fine,” Chaewon says, trying to be tough. The raven-haired girl examines her face with care. “I’m fine,” and she launches herself into Hyejoo’s arms. Hyejoo’s never been so happy to hold her in her life.

“What if you have a concussion!” Choerry asks in fear. 

“No, it’s not that bad, it’s okay,” the blonde says in a small voice into Hyejoo’s chest, before pulling away. “We need to get out of here though,” she says, looking around the gymnasium as the daylight shines through the windows to illuminate the entirety of Nayeon’s team on the ground. The rest of the class either made a break for it during Hyejoo’s rampage or are on the floor, clutching their heads in fear.

Yeojin nods, then proceeds to lift Chaewon up with the other girls’ help, as they carry her to the girls locker room as quickly as they can.

***

“NAYEON IS THE SCUM OF THE EARTH,” Yeojin basically firebreathes, as she paces back and forth in front one of the benches of the girls locker room.

An injured Chaewon rests on the bench, as Hyejoo rustles through her locker for an emergency water bottle. Choerry sits next to them, silent, staring into space.

“YOU KNOW, SHE’S KOREAN-AMERICAN BECAUSE KIM JONG UN AND DONALD TRUMP HAD A BABY.” 

“They had a baby?” Chaewon asks, resting her pounding head on her hand.

“I’m going to come after her and I am going to fucking kill her. For real. I’ll upload her shitty Spanish project commercial on Youtube and make her a meme for the rest of her life. I already have the traction,” Yeojin spits, referring to her latest YouTube upload which of course, was a worldwide hit. “And I’m going to tell my _mom-”_

 _“No!”_ Chaewon says suddenly, causing Hyejoo and Choerry to turn and look at her. “No,” she shakes her head. “She can’t know. Then my mom will find out-”

“Chaewon, they need to get in trouble because it’s what they deserve!” Yeojin says back.

“You can’t say anything,” Chaewon says, and the other girls have no idea how the blonde expects that to work when there were 30 other witnesses, and her body is about to be riddled with deep purple bruises for the next few weeks. “My mom can’t find out.”

“Why don’t you want Ms. Wong to know?” Yeojin asks, confused.

 _“Because I just don’t, okay!”_ Chaewon snaps, making Yeojin go silent. The little girl bites her lip and puts her head in her small hands. “She can’t know.” 

_It would break her heart._

She looks up at all of them. “Promise me you won’t say anything. If anyone asks, just _don’t_ say anything.”

“What are we possibly supposed to say-”

 _“Promise_ me.” Chaewon says, looking at Yeojin, who takes a shaky, angry breath but gives in to her friend’s wishes.

“...I promise.”

“I promise,” Choerry says hollowly, breaking her silence. Her eyes look lifeless.

Chaewon turns to Hyejoo, who clearly doesn’t want to say the same. “They attacked you Chae. The rest of them are just going to go out and completely erase who started it.” 

“Please, Oli.” Chaewon whispers. “My mom can’t know,” she pleads. 

Hyejoo doesn’t understand it at all. But she’ll keep her mouth shut somehow, if that’s what Chaewon really wants. Even if it means taking all the blame. “I… I promise.”

Hyejoo can only pray the truth of what happened today in the gym comes out, somehow. 

Yeojin shakes her head in disapproval, and notices Choerry’s silence finally. “You’re gonna dump Chad after all of this right?”

Choerry’s head snaps up. “He wasn’t even here,” she defends weakly. “He didn’t even do anything.”

“Are you kidding me Choerry?” Yeojin spits, narrowing her eyes. “You know damn well if he were there he would’ve attacked her too with the rest of his fucking friends.” 

“No, he wouldn’t have.” Choerry says with grit teeth, refusing to let herself believe it after everything else she’s gone through today.

“He _would.”_

“Stop fighting!” Chaewon cries from her seat, silencing the student body president and principal’s daughter. She rubs her temples in stress as the exchange makes her pounding head hurt even more.

“Sorry,” Yeojin whispers.

“I love you guys,” Chaewon says honestly. “But I think I just need some space right now.”

“Are you sure?” Choerry whispers, infinitely concerned.

“Yes, it’s okay, I’ll be fine,” Chaewon insists, shooing them away and even managing a small smile. “Thank you guys.” 

“Love you too.” Yeojin huffs. “No homo,” and she smiles back at the blonde. 

Choerry wants to smile too, but she just can’t with all the overwhelming guilt eating away inside of her as Nayeon’s words replay in her mind.

_You did this, Choerry!_

The pink-haired girl breathes an “I’m so sorry.” 

Chaewon softens. “Choerry, it wasn’t your fault…” But Choerry can’t believe it.

Yeojin takes her belongings to leave the room, Choerry moving to do the same. She doesn’t even have anything to give, no extra snacks or water, nothing but her useless apology. 

Hyejoo doesn’t want to leave Chaewon, she _really_ doesn’t want to.

“Oli,” she calls weakly, just as the taller girl begins to force herself pack her things. Their eyes meet meaningfully. Chaewon looks genuinely afraid to be by herself. “...Can you stay?”

***

Chaewon is silent as she finally opens her locker to retrieve her normal clothing and change back. Hyejoo plays with her hands on the bench waiting for her, facing the floor.

Although the two have a lot to say, little to no words have been spoken in the empty locker room over the past ten minutes.

“I’m…” Chaewon begins quietly, making Hyejoo turn to look back at her. “I’m going to go change in there, okay?” she says softly, gesturing to the singular private bathroom a few feet to their side. 

Hyejoo nods wordlessly, not breaking eye contact. Chaewon winces a little, but is able to drag her things inside the private room and close the heavy door.

The room has a long bench, toilet, sink, and tiny sliver of a window for minimal light to shine through; it reminds the little blonde of a prison cell. She rests her belongings on the bench and takes a seat, tired even from the minimal motion.

She hisses when she attempts to lift her shirt up. Sharp, unbearable pain shoots throughout her arms, and she brings a hand to her mouth to stifle the yelp. 

“Chae?” she hears Hyejoo call out from behind the door. “Are you okay?”

“I-It’s okay, I’m fine,” she replies, trying her best to believe it herself. “I’m okay.”

“Okay, just let me know if you need anything,” Hyejoo calls worriedly.

“Thanks,” she says back, and puts her arms down to rest them for a moment. Chaewon takes a deep breath. Maybe the shirt can wait. She puts the article down, and picks up the jeans she wore to school today, setting them on the bench.

Chaewon hooks her thumbs on the waistband of her shorts, about to remove them, and stands up a bit too suddenly for her to handle. Her head is dizzy, her legs tremble, and before she can get them off, she collapses painfully to the grimy floor. 

“Chae?!” Hyejoo calls, even more worriedly than before at the sound of the bang. 

The blonde screws her eyes shut and begins to tremble, unable to fight the vicious overflow of tears that have been building up inside of her for any longer. Everything comes up, all at once.

“Chae?” Hyejoo calls again.

“O-Oli?” Chaewon says in a small voice back, just barely penetrating the bathroom door.

“Chae, are you okay?”

 _Yes,_ she almost forces herself to say. But she just doesn’t have the strength to pretend she is anymore.

 “Can…” She sobs quietly, all the pent up sadness now flowing down her cheeks. “Can you come here please?”

In seconds, Hyejoo is opening the door, and seeing Chaewon crumpled on the floor once again and sobbing. “Oh my God,” she says, heart breaking all over again, and she comes to the floor to very gently scoop up her crying best friend. “Chae-”

Chaewon is sobbing hard into Hyejoo’s chest; she’s not fine, she never was. She’s hurt in more ways than one, she can barely move her body without excruciating pain. And _why?_   She desperately wishes she knew what she ever did to deserve this.

The cries are almost noiseless, but they wrack her whole injured body.

Hyejoo carefully helps Chaewon return to the bench, and the blonde immediately returns back into the other girl’s arms. 

Hyejoo holds Chaewon as tight as she possibly can. She’s never comforted anyone before, not like this, so she tries her best to think of movies and books. (Or, just what she wished she had last night after trivia.)  

The dark-haired girl is a little awkward at first, but she begins to rocks them gently back and forth, cradling Chaewon’s head with one hand, and rubbing her back in circles with the other.

She pains hearing the cries, pains thinking of how cruel kids can be, reflecting in disbelief that this could happen to the best girl she knows who is now shaking, broken.

Although the blonde sobs to get it all out, she’s lulled by the steady sound of Hyejoo’s beating heart, and the comfort brought by the other girl’s tight embrace.

By the time Chaewon has cried out all of her tears minutes later, she trembles in the other girl’s arms in silence. Hyejoo runs her fingers through her hair, gently massaging her scalp where she knows the girl was hit.

“Thank you,” Chaewon whispers into the crook of her classmate’s neck, because it simply must be said. She doesn’t even know where to begin, knows she could never say it enough, but she figures she should probably start now. “Thank you so much,” she squeezes Hyejoo’s body as hard as her weak arms can muster.

“Chae,” she says, breaking away to meet the other eighth grader’s big, teary eyes. “I won’t let anybody hurt you again, okay?” the middle schooler says softly with the nobility of a knight, as she brings hesitant, nearly-shaking hands to the other girl’s face to brush away her tears.

Chaewon, with her face in Hyejoo’s hands, smiles up endearingly at the words of chivalry, this valiant act of middle school heroism. 

She’ll never forget it for as long as she lives.

Hyejoo smiles back, then pulls the girls delicate form back into her arms. She closes her eyes, and rests her face on the top of her head as Chaewon tightens her embrace. “I don’t know what I’d do without you Oli.”

Hyejoo just pulls her impossibly closer, exhaling into the other girl’s warmth, grateful, even if just for this moment in a girls locker room, to be able to keep her safe.

**_BEEP! BEEP!_ **

The sound of the blaringly loud intercom suddenly interrupts the two girls, and Chaewon peeks up at the loudspeaker near the ceiling from Hyejoo’s arms.

 **“Hello. Is this working.”** Haseul’s voice reverberates through the entire locker room as well as every other building on campus. **“Secretary Yongsun is this on. I can’t tell.”**

**“Don’t you do the morning announcements?”**

**“Yes but a student helps me.”**

**“Well is the little light on?”**

**“What little light?”**

**“The light.”**

**“I know but where-”**

**“THE** **_LIGHT!”_ **

**“Ohhhhohohoh yes haha… L.O.L.… HYEJOO HA TO THE PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE PLEASE. I REPEAT, HYEJOO HA TO THE PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE. I** **_REPEAT-”_ **

The intercom stops suddenly like someone cut the wire. 

(Last time Principal Haseul called a student to the principal’s office, she _repeated_ over into the intercom and refused to stop until the child was right in front of her. She even started singing the words after a while in an operatic fashion. The nonstop booming of her never-ending voice interrupted class everywhere for the longest period of time in St. Jihyo’s history, driving several students and teachers to be hospitalized for complete mental breaks.)

Hyejoo exhales apprehensively, while Chaewon shifts to look up at her awaitingly. “You gotta go,” she says softly.

“I’m not leaving you.” Hyejoo insists.

“No, Oli, I’ll be fine,” she grabs the other girl’s hands with a squeeze. “I’ll be okay. For real this time.” 

Hyejoo looks unconvinced. “I’ll text Yeri to come get you. And-” the raven-haired eighth grader rustles through her backpack at her feet. “Here,” she says, handing Chaewon a miniature pill bottle of Ibuprofen that Jiwoo had once given her for emergencies.

_“Here’s Ibuprofen for emergencies DO NOT CHEW THEM THEY ARE NOT LIKE CANDY. I tried, worst moment of my life.”_

“There are only two left, but it should help, okay?”

“Okay,” Chaewon takes the bottle into her hand. “Thank you, Oli.” 

Hyejoo smiles back at her with soft eyes. “And, take this,” she pulls out a black Balenciaga hoodie from her pack. “Can you change back into your clothes?”

“No, it’s- It’s fine, the school day is over anyway,” she says with a frown. “But can you help me put this on?”

Hyejoo obliges, helping a wincing Chaewon slowly lift her arms, then hollowing out the sweater to slide it through as easily as possible. Once her arms are through the sleeves, she looks up at Hyejoo, smiling big in her oversized sweater.

Hyejoo lets go of her hands, then exhales. “I’ll see you later okay?”

“Okay, thank you...” Chaewon looks up at her… and Hyejoo can’t seem to step out of the door she has her foot out of. 

The two just stare at each other for a few beats. 

“I love you,” Chaewon breathes softly.

“I love you too.” 

***

Principal Haseul squints, trying to keep her eyes from drying out.

She and Hyejoo had been staring at each other for at least five minutes now, and neither one of them had spoken since the principal commanded her to have a seat. 

Haseul feared that if she blinked, she would lose some sort of authoritative power, so she’d been struggling to keep them from closing the entire time.

“Well?” Haseul says, leaning forward from behind her desk, attempting to get Hyejoo to finally speak. Hyejoo just looks back at her blankly, shaking her head like she has no idea what Haseul is talking about. 

“Are you going to tell me what just happened in the gym?”

Hyejoo fiddles with her fingers, finally breaking the eye contact between the two of them.

“Oh thank GOD I won!” Haseul exclaims and sighs in relief, immediately shutting her eyes and rubbing them.  “Hyejoo, you should think about entering a professional staring contest, you’re so good at that.” 

Hyejoo still sits in complete silence, and Haseul sighs again, this time, in defeat.

“Okay, come on. You have to tell me what happened. There were at least 23 students on the ground, and 18 of them were unconscious.” Haseul says, her eyebrows knitted together in concern. “And everyone who can manage to speak says that you’re the reason.”

Hyejoo’s gaze moves to the floor, still not offering any explanation. She promised Chaewon she’d keep her mouth shut.

“You know you can’t just go around incapacitating people right?” Principal Haseul swivels a little in her chair. “Life isn’t _Counter Strike.”_

Hyejoo looks up in bewilderment, then breaks her silence involuntarily. “You… You play _Counter Strike?”_

“Yeah add me!” Haseul grins, twirling a pen around in one hand, suddenly switching to a tone of friendliness. “I play on Yeojin’s computer when she’s not home. Found her Fifth Harmony romance fanfiction on there the other day.”

Hyejoo gasps a little, then begins snickering in her seat. “Is it any good?” she chuckles, eager to hear the truth.

“No, I’ve written better.”

Olivia just crinkles her nose and grimaces at the woman in front of her, perplexed, having no idea how to speak to the grown woman in front of her.

“You’re a good kid Hyejoo,” Principal Haseul states casually. “You remind me of myself.”

“Well I wouldn’t go that far.”

“So why don’t you just… Tell me why you did what you did.” Haseul looks at the eighth grader with a serious expression. 

Hyejoo sighs. She wants to, she wants to tell their principal all about Nayeon’s evil scheme. But she can’t; she promised. 

She takes a large breath and comes up with some explanation. 

“I don’t know. I guess I just... It was an accident.” Hyejoo lies through her teeth. “I started throwing dodgeballs at everyone and I guess I threw them too hard.” She finishes, but it’s not enough for Haseul as her eyes narrow.

“Then why would you do it twenty times?”

Hyejoo can’t answer, and looks down at her Yeezy’s. 

“Hyejoo.” Principal Haseul huffs, and leans on her desk. “You’ve never done anything violent your entire time at this school. You have stellar grades. And my sources say you’re a great friend.”

Hyejoo smiles a little; her “sources” clearly being Yeojin.

“This is _incredibly_ unlike you, especially if it was unprompted. Or so you say.” 

“I don’t know. I just did.” Hyejoo lies, fighting the urge to grind her teeth in anger at the thought of what really happened.

Haseul studies the girl over and over. As much as she knows for a fact she’s not receiving the whole story, she has no other leads that were telling her otherwise of what she already knew: Multiple unconscious students, all at the hands of Hyejoo Ha’s dodgeballs.

“Well… since you won’t tell me what else happened... and no one else seems to know at the moment… you’re going to get the blame for it all Hyejoo.” Haseul says, trying to show some consequences in hopes of getting Hyejoo to say the truth, but nothing more is said.

“Originally, I scoped the scene and was like. Yeah that’s a week of detention. And then everyone kept complaining. Like I mean I guess.” Haseul says with a smile. “I’m just kidding. Usually this would call for expulsion.” 

Hyejoo feels her stomach drop out of her body, looking up at Haseul in horror. Haseul shakes her hands in front of her, as if signalling that she was not done talking.

“But, I’m not going to do that to you. You’re not telling me the whole story.”

Hyejoo breathes a sigh of relief. “Thanks.”

“Like the other month when Yeojin drained the pool because she ‘suddenly’ developed a chlorine allergy... But I swear she put something in there.”

Hyejoo crinkles her eyebrows. “What?”

“Unimportant. However, since you aren’t telling me the whole story and this falls on you, I’m going to have to suspend you until after Thanksgiving break.” Principal Haseul says, her eyes full of disappointment. “BUT, I won’t put it on your record. At least, not until I know exactly what went on today.”

Hyejoo nods, slightly shaking, understanding the consequences of her decision to hide the truth. 

“One of these days,” Haseul sighs. “I hope you can come back here and tell me what really transpired.” Hyejoo lowers her head to avoid eye contact. “Before I just find out myself.” The principal says seriously.

“You’ll have to stay in here until your mom can sign you out. Is she already outside? It is the end of the day.” Haseul asks, picking up her office phone.

“Um no, my babysitter was picking me up today.” Hyejoo says biting her lip. Haseul still looks at her expectantly. “I guess you’ll have to call my mom.” She continues hesitantly.

Haseul nods and shoots her an understanding smile, opens a book of students’ contacts, choosing the sweeter mother of Hyejoo’s. 

“Haseul! Hi! How are you!!” Jiwoo says brightly into the phone, picking up after one ring. “Is everything alright? Why are you calling? Is Hyunjin late?”

“Hi Jiwoo... Actually, Hyejoo needs to be signed out by a parent from my office for disciplinary reasons.” Haseul says. “I’ll explain the rest when you arrive.”

“Oh?” Jiwoo says cautiously. “Alright-” 

Before Jiwoo finishes her sentence, some mumbling happens on the other end of the phone. Haseul sits listening, waiting for Jiwoo to return to the call. After a few moments, Haseul speaks up again.

“Jiwoo?” She questions into the phone speaker.

“Yes! Sorry, I’m here- Sooyoung actually just offered to go get her, so she will be the one picking her up.” Jiwoo says hesitantly, as if waiting for Haseul’s response.

“Alright, we will be waiting right here! Thanks Jiwoo.” Haseul says before hanging up the phone. She turns to look at Hyejoo. 

“Your mom is coming.” Haseul says, looking slightly nervous.

“Which mom?” Hyejoo asks suspiciously, but by the sympathetic look on Haseul’s face, she already knows the answer.

“Sooyoung.” Haseul says as Hyejoo lies back on her chair.

She’s never wanted to evaporate so badly in her entire life.

***

“So.” Sooyoung starts, both hands on the wheel as she looks back at her slumped over daughter in the rearview mirror. “Are you going to tell me why you’ve been suspended today?”

Hyejoo makes eye contact with her mom but turns immediately from her gaze to look out the window. 

“Did you not hear Principal Haseul’s explanation?” She responds coldly, while her daughter just has her arms crossed in the back seat.

Sooyoung sighs, exasperated, as she shakes her head silently. 

“I’m sorry. Let me rephrase myself. Are you going to tell me why you critically injured more than half of your P.E. class?” 

Hyejoo remains silent, leaning her head against the glass now.

“ _Answer me_.” Sooyoung commands sternly into the rear view mirror, only prompting Hyejoo to roll her eyes. 

“Why do you care?” Hyejoo snaps back bravely.

“Why do I _care?!”_ Sooyoung flares. “I’m your _mother.”_

Hyejoo lets out a hard laugh. “Oh do the new shoes make you that? Or is it that, now that I got in trouble suddenly you wanna be my mom?”

To avoid slamming the breaks at the back talk, Sooyoung suddenly pulls over to the side of the suburban road so she can turn her head around to look at her belligerent daughter square in the face.

“I don’t have time for your attitude Hyejoo,” Sooyoung snaps quickly and venomously. _“And you will not talk to me that way.”_

“Why not?” Hyejoo asks, voice rising, her tone angrier than ever before. “You talk to everyone else like that.”

“That’s-” The CEO stutters, dumbfounded, trying to make some sort of excuse. “I’m your mother.”

“Wish you weren’t.” Hyejoo says plainly, right to her face.

It takes everything in Sooyoung not to slap Hyejoo in the face right then and there.

But they just glower at each other, silent, challenging. Sooyoung clenches her jaw with a razor sharp glare, but her daughter just stares right back at her. And she looks unafraid.

Neither Sooyoung nor Hyejoo show it, but the tension in the air at that moment terrifies them both.

Hyejoo cuts through it by turning away to look toward the window.

Instead of making any further comments on the fight they just had, Sooyoung turns around back to the steering wheel, and begins to drive once again to where Hyejoo can only hope is home and not an orphanage.

The long car ride the most deafening silence both parties have ever experienced.

Relief washes over Hyejoo when they finally, _finally_ pull up to their front gate and her mother lowers her window to enter the code. 

When Sooyoung pulls into their driveway and parks the car, Hyejoo is hastily pulling away her seatbelt so she can leave the vehicle once her mother unlocks the door.

“Wait.” Sooyoung commands.

Hyejoo’s eyes widen, fear rising within her body.

Hyejoo can think of a million punishments she’s about to receive, but she never expects what her mother says next.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Sooyoung manages to say, completely unexpectedly. 

“What?”

“Trivia Night. I’m- I’m sorry.” 

Hyejoo hesitates for a second. For a split second, she makes eye contact with her mother in the rearview mirror. As quickly as it happens, Sooyoung looks down immediately, feeling more vulnerable than she ever wants to feel. 

It is so utterly confusing. Trivia Night feels like old news to the eighth grader, considering she was just suspended for nearly putting twenty other kids in comatose.

Her daughter just stares some more in disbelief. She doesn’t forgive her at all. But it appears that Hyejoo’s mother won’t unlock the car door until she says something.

“I guess.” Hyejoo mutters.

Sooyoung bites her lip, then unlocks the door. 

The door lowers shut once Hyejoo takes off into the mansion, leaving Sooyoung alone with her thoughts once again.

 _At least that’s something._ Sooyoung thinks.

_Right?_

***

“Hey!” Jinsol greets when Choerry opens the car door to enter the backseat shortly after the normal bell of dismissal.

“Hi,” her daughter says weakly, ever so weakly, and like a dozen alarms firing in her head Jinsol already knows something is wrong. 

The CEO tenses at the steering wheel of the parked car, fighting the urge to turn and look her daughter in the eye. Choerry, in the rear view mirror, has her eyes glued to her shoes.

“You don’t want to sit up here?” Jinsol asks gently. She’s started sitting up front ever since Trivia Night.

In the smallest voice she’s heard from her daughter in a long time, Choerry replies with a “No thanks.” 

Jinsol has music playing; she set her paired phone to bubblegum pop songs she knows her daughter adores before she left to pick her up after school. But Choerry whispers, “Mom?”

“Yes?”

“Can we turn the music off?” as if the already quiet music is just too loud. 

For Choerry though, it is too loud, too overwhelming - she feels like every chord emitted is another sharp blow to her mind, feeling like she’s being suffocated with a blanket of the noise and she’ll scream if it goes on any longer.

It’s all oddly familiar to Jinsol. Somehow.

As the blonde executive puts the Tesla in reverse to back out of the school’s parking lot, Jinsol observes that her daughter, who normally either texts profusely or sings along, is staring off painfully into space on the verge of tears.

“Baby do you wanna stop somewhere?” Jinsol attempts at laying the land. “We can get a smoothie or some ice cream?” She wants to be delicate with this, and hopes she can use the side trip to find out what’s making her daughter so upset.

“No mom, I really just wanna go home.” The words come out voiceless, barely breathed out. 

Choerry has no idea what is happening to her right now; all she knows is that she feels mentally and physically sick. She tried to look at her phone, but it was just _more noise_ , minimal brightness still too bright. The fact that she has no idea what she’s experiencing makes everything a hundred times worse.

 

 _“You caused this, Choerry!”_ Nayeon’s cruel smile is a vision she cannot tear from the front of her mind.

Chaewon on the floor, beaten down by children’s attacks, her crying echoing through the gym, is another.

_I caused this._

_They hate me. They hate me._ Like a broken record, it runs through Choerry’s head, a repetition that she cannot silence no matter how hard she tries to convince herself that she can.

She can’t seem to keep a group of friends, can she? She tried to leave her old ones in the most gentle way she could, tried to do this for herself, and all it did was get others hurt. She just got new friends, and now she’s about to lose them. _I deserve it_ she thinks, because she did this. It’s all her fault.

No matter what any of them can say, she doesn’t believe them. 

_It’s all my fault._

 

When they finally arrive at their home by the sea, the car slows to a stop in their driveway.

“Sweetie-”

Jinsol is cut off by the sound of Choerry bursting open the car door to flee into the house without an explanation.

Her mother catches her face as she does, and on Choerry’s cheeks are heavy streams of tears. 

***

Jungeun, home early, turns from her place on the living room sofa to see her daughter speed walking through the home sobbing. “Choerry?!” 

Her daughter ignores her, walking briskly straight to the stairs. 

 _“Choerry!”_ Jungeun calls, incredibly alarmed at how hard her child is crying. She gets up immediately and Jinsol enters into the home, looking to see their daughter now running up the stairs.

“What is going on?” Jungeun asks her wife, who shakes her head, confused and unable to answer, and the two hear the slam of Choerry’s bedroom door.

Jungeun rushes up the stairs. Jinsol struggles to keep up. 

When the two are approaching the entrance to their child’s room, Jinsol tries to stop Jungeun from what she appears that she’s about to do. “Jungeun I don’t think you should-”

But she’s not quick enough, and Jungeun is already opening up the room, taking advantage of the lockless door. 

“What’s the problem?!” Jungeun questions Choerry aggressively, but Jinsol just knows she’s insanely alarmed. 

Choerry, at the side of her bed and belongings strewn haphazardly on the floor, is sobbing into her hands. “Please, _please_ leave me alone-”

“Choerry _what_ happened!?” Jungeun is nearly shouting. “Who hurt you.”

“Mommy p-please,” Choerry whines through her cries. “Please _please_ leave me alone,” she begs. 

“Choerry you need to tell me what’s going on!” Choerry just cries harder, and whispers something the parents think they hear as _Get out._ Jungeun’s interrogation is cut short by Jinsol wrapping her arms around the shorter mother and directing her away. 

 _“What are you doing?!”_ Jungeun whispers forcefully.

“Come on,” Jinsol replies, slowly getting Jungeun to walk with her with a lot more verbal coaxing. 

“I’m not leaving her like this!” 

“She needs some space, Jungeun,” Jinsol whispers, and she knows it to be true. Somehow, Jinsol manages to get Jungeun out of the door. 

When they shut it, they can still hear their child sobbing behind it. 

The chaos makes Jungeun put her face in her hands from being overwhelmed, hating with every fiber of her being the sounds of her daughter in pain as they stand in the hall. 

“Jungeun,” Jinsol calls, and wife looks up at her with something like a scowl or a deer in headlights, or both. “Let her have her space right now.”

 _“I’m her mother! There is no space!”_ Jungeun hisses aggressively in panic.

“Hey- Hey,” Jinsol just rubs her hands comfortingly on Jungeun’s arms, up and down in a soothing manner. “Just for a little bit, babe. She feels really overwhelmed right now,” Jinsol says, thinking of how Choerry wanted absolute silence in the car and didn’t even look at her phone like always.

Her efforts seem to calm her wife, as Jungeun’s tense body slackens just a bit. 

“I’ll go in and check on her in ten minutes,” Jinsol promises. “Not a minute more.”

Jungeun is still visibly worried. 

Jinsol rubs her shoulders. “She’s gonna be okay.”

And because Jinsol thinks she may just have the tiniest inkling of what’s going on, she says - “I got this one.” 

***

Ten minutes pass before Jinsol attempts to knock on her child’s door, receiving no response from the other side.

Jinsol tapped lightly on the glass of water she was bringing to Choerry as she waits another beat before knocking again, hoping that her daughter just didn’t hear her the first time.

No response.

Jinsol, not wanting to disturb her but needing to know if her daughter is okay, places her hand on the door handle and turns it slowly.

“Choerry?” Jinsol says, treading lightly, her voice low and gentle in order not to startle the child in the bedroom.

Jinsol peeks into the room and sees a small bump in the middle of Choerry’s bed hidden under her purple astro-themed duvet, and Jinsol wonders for a second if maybe the girl has fallen asleep.

That is, until she hears a quiet sniffle coming from near the pillow.

Jinsol creeps forward to the other side of the bed, where Choerry’s face is visible. Her face is stained with tears, some still falling onto her cheeks. 

Jinsol’s heart feels like it’s being rung violently when she notices that Choerry has the blankets wrapped tightly around her body, adjusting it every so often to be tighter than what it was before. 

Jinsol recognizes the familiar technique instantly, feeling her heart plummet to her stomach. 

She walks closer to her little girl, finally gaining the younger one’s attention. Choerry just closes her eyes upon the sight of her mother, saying nothing as tears continue to flow down her cheeks.

Seeing her daughter like this completely devastates Jinsol. The middle schooler, usually bright and beaming, suddenly seems so small. It takes everything for Jinsol not to cry along with her and she wishes more than anything that she could just take the pain away. 

Instead, Jinsol sits on the edge of the bed, places the glass of water gently on the nightstand, and does the only thing she knows she can. 

“I’m going to hug you okay?” Jinsol says, not wanting to make her daughter’s mental state worse by smothering her without consent.

Choerry hesitates for a minute at her mother’s words, but does not refuse, sitting up slightly to make it easier for her mother to scoop her up and hold her in her arms.

Choerry sobs loudly into her mother’s shoulder, and Jinsol holds her tighter than she ever has. 

Her desperate cries are so hard to hear; the pain behind it too great for any girl her age to be experiencing. She clings to Jinsol for dear life as she empties her heart.

The pressure of Jinsol’s arms around Choerry allows for her to feel just calm enough to try and speak.

“I don’t f-feel good mommy,” Choerry can barely stutter, hiccuping and gasping for air between tears and words. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I d-don’t- I d-don’t-”

“Shhh,” Jinsol pulls her daughter closer into her as Choerry begins to sob again. “It’s okay, we’ll figure it out… It’s going to be okay.” She reassures, rubbing soothing warm circles into her daughter’s shaking back over disheveled pink hair.

 

Choerry settles down eventually, her whimpers slowing to tiny hiccups and eyes going dry. When they do, she slowly sits up from her mother’s shoulder and wipes her runny nose with her hand. 

“Hey, here,” Jinsol calls, grabbing a box of tissues and the glass of water from Choerry’s nightstand. The girl blows her nose a few times before taking a small sips.

Once Choerry finishes, Jinsol takes the used tissues and sets them down beside her. Choerry’s eyes are red and stinging, her breathing shaky, but much more stable than a few minutes ago. Jinsol is still rubbing her back as she takes a few more breaths, glad to see that each one is deeper than the last. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jinsol asks softly, looking down at her daughter, whose eyes are nearly shut from being so swollen.

“Not really.” Choerry responds, her voice hoarse from the episode. “I’m so tired...” 

Jinsol sees how physically drained her daughter has become, the attack sucking out all of the thirteen year old’s energy.

Jinsol nods. “Okay. Get some rest okay? Call me if you need anything.” She leans over to press a kiss to her daughter’s head for the first time in a long time.

The eighth grader rubs her eyes, and allows Jinsol to tuck her into bed. Jinsol is almost at the door when Choerry says it.

“I love you.” her child says quietly and wholeheartedly, closing her eyes and resting a heavy head on her pillow. In fact, it’s so quiet that Jinsol’s almost sure she hallucinated it.

A small smile blooms on Jinsol’s face. “I love you so much,” she whispers, just loud enough for her daughter to hear. She turns off the lights. “If you need anything at all, call,” Jinsol leaves the door a little open. “I love you,” she repeats once more, before disappearing into the bright hallway.

Choerry is about to fall asleep, when a noise comes from under her pillow. 

_Bzz._

Sniffling, Choerry goes to turn her phone on silent, but not before seeing an array of plentiful notifications on her phone.

**New Messages from TIDDIE JUGGLERS (6)**

**New Message from Chaewon**

**New Message from Hyejoo**

**New Message from Yeri**

**New Messages from Yeojin (22)**

She doesn’t even notice that there’s nothing from Chad.

Choerry unlocks her phone to scan the messages quickly. She sees the TIDDIE JUGGLERS group chat first.

 **Chaewon:** has anyone heard from choerry? she hasn’t responded to my text :(

 **Hyejoo:** no she hasn’t responded to me either.

 **Yeri:** mine 🅱️either

 **Yeojin:** are u fucking serious yeri

 **Yeri:** just tryin to lighten the mood

 **Hyejoo:** choerry if you see this please text us back

Choerry’s eyebrows raise at her friends’ concern for her. She honestly didn’t even think they knew something was wrong, considering all that happened on this horrible day. She closes the group chat and scrolls through the privately sent messages.

 **Chaewon:** hi i know i already told you but i just hope you know that nothing today was your fault. txt me back so ik ur ok. <3

 **Hyejoo:** R u ok

 **Yeri:** u good girlie?

Choerry stops when she gets to Yeojin’s thread, filled with many new messages.

 **Yeojin:** hey i hope you’re okay, sorry for kinda getting mad at you 

 **Yeojin:** i be dumb sometimes

 **Yeojin:** u feel me

 **Yeojin:** not as dumb as nayeon was thinking she could take us am i right

 **Yeojin:** too soon? yea too soon sorry im gonna stop talking now… here maybe this will make you feel better.

Choerry laughed as she scrolled through the rest of the messages, which were videos of Yeojin forcing Haseul to recreate old vines.

“GET ON TOP OF THE FRIDGE. GET UP THERE.” Yeojin screams in the video Choerry’s clicked on.

“THIS HOUSE IS A FREAKING NIGHTMARE.” Haseul says, as Yeojin films her crawling into the tiny space between the fridge and the ceiling. The principal then attempts to get out, but is clearly stuck.

“Yeojin… Please help...” She says, causing Yeojin to go into a laughing fit.

“Okay hold on I’m-” The video cuts before Yeojin can finish.

Choerry smiles at her phone, grateful to have the friends she has, seeming to forget about the giant breakdown she was having a few seconds ago within moments of seeing her friends care for her.

She taps on the text entry bubble and types a response.

 **Choerry:** i’m ok. just really tired. i’ll text you all later ok?

Immediately, typing bubbles appear and a new message from Yeojin appears.

 **Yeojin:** ok good we were worried but i’ll tell the group ur not dead 

 **Yeojin:** feel better chief

 **Choerry:** thank u <3 

With that, Choerry locks her phone and puts her head to her pillow. She finally allows the weight of her eyelids to take over as she enters a deep sleep, letting the worries of today fade away.

***

“What happened? What did she say? Is she okay?” 

Jungeun has stopped pacing around the master bedroom to interrogate her wife, who has just returned from a long check up on their distressed daughter.

“I don’t know what happened, but she’s okay. She’s taking a nap.” Jinsol replies, causing Jungeun to continue pacing back and forth in front of the bed.

“What do you mean you don’t know? I’m going to ask her when she wakes up. Maybe I should just wake her up and ask her. I should probably-”

“Jungeun,” Jinsol says, walking over to her wife and stopping her from moving with a gentle grip. “She just didn’t want to talk about it yet. She was very upset and could barely talk anyway.” 

Jungeun’s worry only grows, eyes of concern looking into Jinsol’s. “...She was crying that much?”

“Yes... “ Jinsol trails, “She said... She didn’t feel good, and that she didn’t know what was going on.”

“Well we should take her to the hospital? Give her some medicine! Why are we letting her sleep?” Jungeun questions, unsure of her wife’s decision to leave their hurting child alone.

Jinsol swallows hard, trying to contain the uneasiness he was getting herself, the same uneasiness she was sure her daughter had inherited. 

She had to tell Jungeun her assumptions. She just fears how her wife is about to react.

“Because I don’t think she has a physical problem with her stomach.” Jinsol says slowly. 

Jungeun’s eyebrows come together in confusion. “Then what do you think is wrong?”

Jinsol takes a deep breath and shuts her eyes before answering the question. 

“I think she has anxiety.” 

Jungeun freezes immediately, eyes widening in fear. She sits down on the edge of the bed, needing to, and Jinsol follows. 

Beside the gentle flow of their waterfall pool, the master bedroom is entirely silent.

After some time, Jungeun finally looks back at her wife.

“But… She’s not even a teenager. This… Could probably just a puberty thing right? Or- Just one thing could have happened and it really upset her.” Jungeun searches Jinsol’s eyes for any hint of confirmation as to what she just said and Jinsol wishes more than anything she could give it to her. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be honest if she did.

“You should’ve seen her in the car,” Jinsol says, reaching for her wife’s hand. “She didn’t want any music playing, not even a slow song. It was like... It was too much noise.”

Jinsol continues. “And when I went into her room, she was tugging on her blanket so it would be tighter on her so the pressure could ease her breakdown.”

Jinsol watches as Jungeun’s look of confusion transforms into one of realization.

“You do that when you have them.” Jungeun says simply, her face sinking, causing Jinsol’s heart to do the same.

“Yeah.” Jinsol frowns deeply at the thought of being responsible for her daughter’s issues. (Although Jungeun was the one to give birth, Choerry was created with  revolutionary new gene editing to combine of both of her mothers’ chromosomes. Jinsol has a diagnosed anxiety disorder; Jungeun does not.) 

“She has always been very self conscious about whether or not people like her.” Jungeun says, as if she was going through every moment she had ever encountered with her daughter in order to identify the signs she’s never paid attention to.

“Things are also changing a lot for her.” Jinsol says, watching her wife’s concern grow more and more. Jungeun’s jaw clenches, looking like she’s desperately trying to prevent herself from tearing up.

Jinsol scoots closer to hold Jungeun, the brunette’s arms gripping softly around Jinsol’s as she buries her face in her chest. Jinsol feels her take a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” She asks her wife, pushing her own feelings away for now in order to stay strong for her wife as she processes the situation at hand.

“I’m scared.” Jungeun states simply, before sitting up to face Jinsol again with teary eyes. 

Jinsol lifts her hand to caress her wife’s face. “Hey,” Jinsol says, looking into her wife’s eyes. “The good thing is, we have an idea of what’s happening... So we can make sure to handle it appropriately.” The blonde rubs a thumb over Jungeun’s cheek.

“Are we… Do we get her… Meds?” Jungeun asks, and she really hopes not.

“No sweetheart, it’s just been one bad attack. She’s so young too. We just need to really watch now and make sure she’s doing okay.” Jinsol puts her hands around her wife’s waist. “I’ll talk to my doctor tomorrow, just for a second opinion and so we know the best ways to help.” 

Jungeun takes a very shaky breath and leans her head on Jinsol’s shoulder, while her wife kisses the top of her head. After a few seconds of silence, Jinsol begins to feel an awful feeling in her insides as she remembers how Choerry could have avoided this had it not been for her.

“I’m sorry.” Jinsol says suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence between the women.

“For what?” Jungeun asks, head still leaning on Jinsol’s shoulder.

“For giving this to her.” 

Jungeun sits up suddenly, and looks at her wife. She moves fallen strands of blonde hair out of her face gently, as Jinsol avoids eye contact.

“You didn’t do anything Jinsol. This isn’t your fault.” Jungeun whispers. “And besides, you gave her that beautiful smile and your big genius scientist brain,” she jokes lightheartedly.

“You should have seen her last night, oh my God Jungeun,” Jinsol smiles, remembering Trivia Night. “She’s so smart…” Jinsol begins to rave about their daughter, citing specific instances fervidly while Jungeun’s heart warms. (It’s all she’s ever wanted, really.)

With that, Jungeun brings their lips together, a soft and warm kiss curing the worry Jinsol had been feeling in her stomach. They pull apart shortly after, Jungeun holding Jinsol’s hands.

“I’m scared, but that’s just because I hate to see either of the people I love the most like this.” Jungeun smiles calmly. “But like you said. We will get through it. I’m glad she has you to rely on and I’m glad I do too. Just like you have me.”

Jinsol shows a small smile. “I love you.” She says, moving her nose so that it boops Jungeun’s.

Jungeun’s nose scrunches and she disconnects their foreheads playfully, but she looks at her wife with loving eyes. 

“I love you too.”

***

Nearly four hours after Choerry had fallen asleep, she wakes to the smell of barbeque wafting in through her slightly open door. 

Pulling herself up with care, Choerry steps out of her bed to put on her fuzzy buzzy slippers, and heads toward their spiraling stairs around the gleaming blue fish tank.

Once she reaches the entrance to the kitchen, she squints, barely able to keep her heavy eyes open at the bright white light.

“Hi baby,” Jinsol greets, noticing Choerry first as she checks the vegetables in the steamer. Her other mother at the stove cooking chicken strains her neck to see their daughter. Jungeun smiles softly at their daughter, who still looks exhausted even after a four hour nap. Choerry’s hair is smashed up against her head on one side while the other side dangles freely, and her eyes are being rubbed as they try to adjust to her bright surroundings.

“Just in time for dinner.” Jungeun says, turning the stove off as Jinsol takes down plates and walks over to help prepare the meals.

Choerry takes a seat in front of one of the placemats at the table, and soon enough Jungeun joins her, placing a very appetizing plate in front of her. Jinsol, from near the fridge, holds up the option of either mango lemonade or a stray Capri Sun to her seated daughter.

“Can I have chocolate milk please?” Choerry asks in a quiet voice. 

Jungeun thinks about the unusual combination of their food with that specific drink, and tries not to openly show her distaste - but the CFO watches as her wife winks at their daughter and quickly pours some out for her into a glass before coming to join them at the table. 

Choerry sits at the end of the table with one of her mothers on either of her sides. The eighth grader has taken a few slow bites of her chicken when Jungeun breaks the comfortable silence. “Choerry, we should talk,” Jungeun asks, trying her best not to overwhelm their daughter.

Choerry looks up silently, suddenly anxious again as she waits for her mom to continue.

Jungeun looks extremely worried. “You need to let us know if someone’s giving you a hard time at school,” she states firmly. “We can’t help you if you don’t tell us what’s going on, okay?”

Choerry tenses, unable to break eye contact with Jungeun. She feels as though she might start crying all over again, until Jinsol rests a gentle hand on her back. 

“We just want to make sure you’re okay, that’s all,” Jinsol explains, making her wife nod in agreement. Choerry takes a deep breath before looking at the table.

“She didn’t hurt me, she hurt my friends.”

Jungeun’s eyebrows crinkle together. “Who? Who hurt your friends?” She asks, matching Choerry’s soft tone.

The student body president plays with her fork. She thinks a little bit before quietly answering, “Nayeon.”

“Who’s Nayeon?” Jinsol whispers loudly, startling the two girls sitting with her. Jungeun clicks her tongue at her with a bit of an _I’ll tell you later!_ glare, but returns back to look at Choerry.

“What happened?” 

“I- She…” The summary of today’s events is so difficult to say; Choerry doesn’t want to bring any part of it into her home. “They got really rough in dodgeball. She said… I was the reason she did it, because I stopped hanging out with her. And they really hurt Chaewon.”

Jungeun gasps quietly. _“Nicki Minaj?”_

“Okay- _What_ is going _on_ …” Jinsol’s eyes dart between the two of them, perplexed. 

Jungeun grabs her wife’s hand from across the table. “I’ll tell you later sweetie- They physically hurt her?!” Choerry just nods. “I’m going to call your principal immediately. She cannot get away with this.” Jungeun says sternly, but Choerry reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

“No, no please don’t.” Choerry says, panic filling her once again. 

“Choerry-”

“I can handle it. Just please please don’t call. It will make things worse.”

Jungeun looks at her daughter, ready to insist on taking measures into her own hands, but she sees Jinsol looking at her in the corner of her eye.

“What do you think?” Jungeun asks her wife. Jinsol’s eyes widen slightly, taking in what Jungeun has just said to her.

“Um.” Jinsol thinks for a few seconds, looking at their very worried daughter. “Are you sure you can handle it? What if we tell Haseul and she gets suspended or expelled?”

Choerry sighs. “Her parents donate a lot of money and she’s one of the best students at school. I don’t think she’s ever going to leave. Plus even if she did, high school is next year and she won’t be suspended from that place.” Choerry says looking back and forth at both her parents. 

Jungeun looks and Jinsol, and Jinsol shrugs. 

“Look, if you don’t want us to say anything this time, we won’t.” Jinsol says, making sure to look directly at her daughter. “But if she does something like this ever again, you have to tell us. It’s not up for discussion.” 

“Okay.” Choerry agrees, and Jungeun stands up.

“We just don’t want anything bad to happen to you baby,” Jungeun says, pulling Choerry in tight.

“I know.” Choerry responds with appreciative eyes, hugging her mother back tightly. 

Jinsol watches fondly from her seat, until Choerry extends an arm to her too, and the feeling Jinsol gets is invaluable.

“I love you both so much.” Jungeun says, finding Jinsol’s hand and giving it a squeeze.

“I love you too.” Jinsol and Choerry both say at the same time.

Jungeun holds onto her favorite girls a little longer, afraid for their daughter with this obstacle so unfairly thrown into her young life. But if there’s one Jungeun knows for sure, it’s that her wife and their daughter are the strongest people she knows. They’ll all make it through, now that they have each other.

She's never loved her beautiful family so much.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOW THAT you’ve read those Hyewon moments… you should go back to the end of Chapter 5… :) - Cat
> 
> P.S. This was a LONG ASS chapter so you’re not allowed to leave until you COMMENT your favorite parts that’s right did you really think I would leave before saying it ily readers mwah and i love rting all the MSD memes you all tweet <3 
> 
> IMMMMM SO happy yall get to read this chapter it means a lot to me and there are so many things that happen and it really is a good set up for whats to come so i hope you all liked it! -daniela
> 
> P.S LADIES i went to loonacon and let me just tell you i love them so much the interactions i had… literally a crying today go look at my twitter 
> 
> @jiwoorene (Daniela)  
> @igbtchuuves (Cat)
> 
> \- curiouscat.me/yoojungsua (Daniela)
> 
> IMPORTANT, MUST READ: We are college students and school is starting again for the both of us. We will most likely be slower with putting out chapters. Please be patient and do NOT badger us to update, we take time to write this for free and do not owe you anything. Thank you
> 
> yeah dont badger us i dont even like badgers lets talk about chipmunks instead


	9. Candy Cane Lane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so here's what you missed on glee. olivia and sooyoung did mom/daughter trivia night with everyone else but sooyoung was an asshole like usual and olivia had a really bad night. nayeon got the entire class to bully chaewon during dodgeball but then olivia took them all out but then got taken out of school. temporarily! lipsoul found out that choerry has anxiety but were super supportive about it and their family is doing great. also haseul made a tinder and vivi got Jealous. and that’s what you missed, on *glee!* ]
> 
> Hi everyone i know it’s been a while… Thank you so much to our wonderful audience who waited patiently while we were/are busy with school, I love you guys! <333 - Cat
> 
> hey guys omg christmas is almost here and so is my orbit 2.0 kit but then i bought the seasons greetings so this world is just an endless amount of waiting! but not today tho the wait is over have fun reading :p also stream hip by mamamoo - daniela
> 
> TW: Homophobia, but there is so much sweetness to make up for it we promise

The deafening noise of cymbals crashing together blasts through every intercom of St. Jihyo’s Presidential Academy at 8AM sharp.

 ** _“GOOD MORNING SAINTS!”_** Principal Haseul roars into the sound system, lowering the full-sized golden cymbals in her hands.

The daily morning announcements have officially begun, evoking groans from all over campus. The assisting student directly adjacent to the principal, however, gives her an encouraging thumbs up. Haseul sends Choerry a thumbs up right back.

 **“I hope you’re all having a delightful start to your morning!”** The principal addresses brightly. **“Please stand for the pledge…**

Students look around in every classroom at each other, puzzled.

 **“JUST KIDDING, WE’RE A PRIVATE SCHOOL! ...Hahaha. I hate America.”** Haseul states plainly into the mic. 

 **“For lunch today,”** the principal continues, **“we have freshly made tacos. Friendly reminder to no one in particular** **_YEOJIN_ ** **that you cannot take extra portions of pudding from the cafeteria and sell them on the blacktop,”**

Meanwhile, Yeojin in first period leans over to her classmates - “I call it the black market.” 

 **“Oh here’s an important one!”** Haseul moves on. **“A reminder to the staff. Please do NOT leave the kids alone without supervision. Because sometimes things get a little out of control when they’re left by themselves and I am bombarded with questions from parents that I don’t have answers to because their kids aren’t speaking! And I’m awake at four in the morning on Thanksgiving night wondering what sick freak of nature invented dodgeball as a sport in the first place because children become injured and-”**

“Um, maybe I should take over.” Choerry whispers gently to the principal, who’s growing more and more irritable talking about the gym incident from weeks ago that she still knows nothing about.

Principal Haseul cuts herself off, and nods in agreement.

 **“Anyways, here is your president Choerry with some important announcements!”** Haseul slides the mic over to the eighth grader next to her. 

 **“Good morning everyone!”** The student body president greets energetically into the intercom, reading notecards in her hand. **“Friendly reminder to send your submissions for the yearbook to Yeri Kang via email and not text. This is her official statement: ‘I don’t know how you all have acquired my contact information but text me one more time and I will be in direct correspondence with the FBI.’”**

Choerry moves on to her next note card. **“Dungeons and Dragons club will be meeting tomorrow-”**

 **“Oh my God we have that?”** Haseul breathes, failing at her attempt to be discreet as the entire school hears her comment. 

**“...Tomorrow at noon for their board elections-”**

**“Wait can faculty join?”** Haseul asks softly yet again, audible over the intercom. Her daughter Yeojin crinkles her entire face in extreme disgust from her seat in Ms. Wong’s classroom. 

 **“Last but not least,”** Choerry continues, **“Remember that the PTA bake sale is this weekend! Start your winter breaks off right by picking up a cookie to snack on as you walk through beautiful Candy Cane Lane! Baked goods will be sold at multiple stations throughout the neighborhood, so be sure to check it out!”**

Choerry slides the mic back to the principal who moves forward towards it.

 **“Thank you Choerry!”** the principal chirps to the younger girl, excusing her from the room. Haseul turns back to the large microphone. **“Now it’s time to sign off with your daily ASMR quote,”** the principal says, while all her students groan dramatically again.

Choerry grabs her things and heads to her favorite class of the day, while Haseul closes out the announcements in whispers.

 **“She say do you love me. I tell her only partly. I only love my bed. And my momma. I am sorry.”** Haseul takes a beat before screaming into the microphone again. **“THANK YOU SAINTS, HAVE A GOOD DAY!”**

***

“May I have everyone’s attention please.”

“Anyone who uses ‘may’ is a hardass,” Yeojin whispers to her friends before the art class quiets down out of respect for the unfamiliar substitute teacher. 

The short Korean woman (who looks no older than 20 but carries herself like Captain America) approaches the white board as she uncaps an Expo marker with a pop.

 **MS. JISOO** , she writes neatly on the white board. “My name is Ms. Jisoo.”

“Oh my god really?” Yeri asks sarcastically. Snickers erupt. 

Ms. Jisoo ignores her expressionlessly and grabs the student roster at the empty desk of Ms. Wong, who is out this morning due to a doctor’s appointment. “We will now proceed to take attendance.”

“I know she be running a McDonald’s like it’s the Navy,” Yeojin says again.

Almost as if on cue, Ms. Jisoo dramatically stops mid-action to frown at Yeojin’s talkativity. After a few moments, Yeojin finally realizes the class has come to a standstill because of her. 

“Would you like to _share_ your conversation with the rest of the class?” Ms. Jisoo demands more than asks.

“Yeah. I said girl you’re thicker than a bowl of oatmeal and I haven’t eaten breakfast yet,” the eighth grader responds fearlessly, causing the class to burst out into cacophonous laughter. (To Yeojin, substitutes have the same amount of authority as a fly on the wall.)

“Does your mother know you talk like that?” 

“My mom is your _boss,_ so by _blood_ I am too.” Yeojin responds confidently. 

Before Ms. Jisoo can tell the child off, a very upbeat, extra-preppy looking Choerry enters through the classroom’s doorway, taking the substitute’s attention off of the class clown.

“Good morning! Sorry I’m late! I’m Choerry! I’m the president of the St. Jihyo’s student council who you heard from the morning announcements-” 

“Take a seat,” Ms. Jisoo says dryly, barely even looking at her. 

Choerry, who is used to being automatically liked by every authority figure on the face of the planet, is a little taken aback. 

 _“Where’s Ms. Wong,”_ Yeojin bellows in a voice 10 octaves deeper than her own. _“We want Ms. Wong,”_

“Is anyone going to address this…” Yeri says, gesturing to Chaewon, who is fully clothed in black, her hood up, and her face down on the table protected by her arms as if she were having a breakdown. “Is she okay? Are you okay?”

Chaewon, extremely depressed for reasons unknown, doesn’t even bother to lift her head up and answer her friend. 

Well, that is, until a familiar face enters into the classroom for the first time in weeks. 

Yeojin gasps dramatically, and the entire class’s attention is captured as well. It’s Hyejoo, on her first day back from suspension!

Awkwardly, the dead-eyed eighth grader approaches the substitute and hands her an excuse note. “Hi, sorry I’m late.” 

Chaewon’s head perks up at the speed of light for the first time since she arrived at school. She gasps a little. 

“HYEJOOOOO!” Choerry excitedly hugs her friend at the front of the classroom who has been gone for a few weeks. 

“Olivia,” Hyejoo croaks out with her face completely smothered in Choerry’s fluffy teddy coat.

“OLIVIAAAA!” 

“Get back to your seats ladies.” Ms. Jisoo says sharply, not caring at all about the reunion.

Yeri pulls two chairs for the both of them to join her, Yeojin, and Chaewon in the back of the room. Due to Ms. Wong’s absence this morning, no one is in their assigned seat, and the room’s layout is all out of order. 

Hyejoo feels millions of butterflies pinball the lining of her stomach at the sight of Chaewon wearing the hoodie she had given her all those weeks ago. 

Excited, Hyejoo takes the seat next to Chaewon, who looks up at her with a tear-stained face. It isn’t much of a reunion; then again, they’ve called nearly every day since Hyejoo’s suspension. 

“What happened?” Hyejoo asks gently, extremely concerned. 

Chaewon hides her face in her arms again, but lifts a hand to show the other eighth grader her phone. It’s a tweet:

 **@TMZ:** **Nicki Minaj Announces She's Retiring from Music**

Hyejoo lets out a gasp. “Oh nooo,” she says empathetically, giving Chaewon more emotion than she gives most people in an entire day. “I’m sorry Chae...” 

The blonde shakes her head into her arms. Then, she suddenly tips her body and falls into Hyejoo’s lap, making the other eighth grader turn bright red. 

“I missed you,” Chaewon mumbles into her lap.

“I missed you too,” Hyejoo smiles.

Ms. Jisoo clears her throat with the attendance roster in hand. “Yerim Kang.”

“I’m Yeri!” Yeojin says from her seat next to the actual Yeri, as she puts one hand on her ear dramatically. “YyEeeAaAAaaAAAh.” Yeojin attempts a vocal run with eyes squeezed shut.

“No I’m Yeri. Listen.” Choerry moves her hand through the air in a sassy manner as she attempts her own run. “YeaH yeAh YeeaaHHh.”

“No that’s not as good you gotta be like: YeeeeEEaaAAaaahHhhHh.”

“YeAhHHh yEahhHHh.”

“YeaAAaAaAAaAaaaH.”

Yeojin and Choerry continue to yell ad libs diagonally at one another as both Ms. Jisoo and Hyejoo stare at them in confusion. Yeri raises her hand and Ms. Jisoo looks over at her, the two smaller girls still going in the background.

 _“I’m Hyejoo.”_ Yeri says, channeling the same demonic voice that she hadn’t used since haunted housing. 

“What the-” Hyejoo starts.

 _“Look,”_ Ms. Jisoo begins in an agitated tone. “I don’t care who any of you beasts really are. I just need to make sure that everyone is here today. So raise your hand if you’re absent.”

“Raise your hand if you’re absent? Fucking dumbass,” Yeojin wheezes, and the whole class bursts into laughter yet again.

Before Ms. Jisoo can breathe fire on Yeojin, Choerry saves the day with a distracting “Three people are absent!” and starts reading off their names for Jisoo to record. 

Once the substitute finishes, she huffs dramatically while illegally reaching to put on a pair of headphones. “If the volume of this room becomes any louder than my show, every single one of you is receiving a detention,” Ms. Jisoo says, taking a seat at Ms. Wong’s desk and pulling out her phone to watch a Jenna Marbles video titled “Corn on the cob but instead of the corn bone it’s a hot dog.”

Chairs scrape harshly against the tile floor as students adjust themselves to converse with their peers. Choerry, Yeojin, Yeri, and Hyejoo all face each other, Chaewon still snug in Hyejoo’s lap below the table.

“Everyone get a tiny piece of paper,” Yeojin says, as she rustles through her backpack. “Write your name on it and put it in this so we can pick names for Secret Santa,” Yeojin puts a large santa hat in the middle of them. “Also, welcome back John Cena, we missed you queen.” She bows her head to Hyejoo, who just rolls her eyes.

“Where the fuck did you even get that?” Hyejoo says, referring to the santa hat. “Do you just carry one around?”

“No,” Yeojin says, shooting Hyejoo daggers. “My mom does. I stole one from her office. She literally has fifty santa hats just hanging on her chair.” 

“I love Christmas!” Yeri says ripping off pieces of paper and generously handing them to the girls around her. “It means the bake sale is coming, and to keep me out of the kitchen, my mom lets my other mom take me out to do whatever I want!” 

(Last Christmas, Seulgi took Yeri out to buy her own giraffe. Yeri named it Greedy, after the Ariana Grande song. Irene came home from the store to a giraffe in their backyard.)

“Why doesn’t your mom want you in the kitchen?” Choerry asks, writing her name on the piece of paper, folding it up and handing it to Yeojin.

“Have you met my mother?” Yeri says, dropping her name into the Santa hat. “She wouldn’t even let Gordon Ramsay in there without her permission. Literally. That was such a weird experience for me...” Yeri trails off as the girls look at her in confusion.

“Okay ladies, let’s get these names!” Yeojin aggressively shakes the hat, now filled with the five papers. Once she finishes scrambling the papers, she opens it to let one of her friends choose their gift recipient with their eyes closed. 

The five girls draw names, one at a time.

“I would just like to repeat the rules for everyone. Nothing over twenty dollars. No asking your person what they want. AND ONLY,” Yeojin squints directly at Hyejoo and Chaewon in her lap. “Get a gift for the PERSON YOU _CHOSE._ NO ONE ELSE.”

Hyejoo and Chaewon are already talking to each other though. Chaewon sits up to be leveled with Hyejoo, completely forming their own bubble and looking into each other’s eyes with soft smiles.

Yeojin snaps in between their faces to interrupt them. “Hey Eeyore and Piglet, are you listening to me?”

“...Why do we need to know that…?” Hyejoo asks. 

“Oh gee, I don’t know, maybe because every time we do Secret Santa you guys always get extra gifts for each other that are always thoughtful and over the top and it makes us all look POOR,” Yeojin huffs, finishing her tirade, as Choerry looks in their direction with wide eyes (even though she is in no way surprised).

“Shut up, we’re following the rules,” Chaewon retorts, putting her own slip of paper with her recipient’s name into her pencil case.

“I’m so excited!” Choerry chirps, looking down at the name on the slip of paper in her hand. “I know _just_ what to get. And I didn’t think I was gonna get anything for Christmas this year other than the ones from my family!” 

Yeri stops the aggressive texting she was busy with and looks up from her phone, puzzled. “Wait, what? Isn’t your boyfriend gonna get you something?” 

Yeojin turns to Choerry in disgust. “He hasn’t gotten you any present? _Ever?”_

“As Mary Magdalene once said, _a scrub is a guy who can’t get no love from me…”_ Yeri sings.

“No, it’s not like that it’s just,” Choerry crinkles her eyebrows, turning a bit red from shame. At this point, it’d be easier to defend someone on death row than convince anyone that Chad is a good boyfriend. “He’s just not that great at gift giving,” Choerry says, trying to convince the entire table including herself.

“Choerry. You let his rat ass take your homework from your locker to copy and he can’t even fold construction paper in half and write ‘Merry Christmas’?” Yeojin’s eyebrows raise, and Choerry can feel the other girls’ eyes on her.

“It really doesn’t matter…. Him being my boyfriend is enough of a gift!” Choerry lies through her teeth.

Yeojin sees right through her, but elects not to press any further. “I hate straight people,” the girl mumbles lowly.

“I’m not straight!” Choerry defends.

“You just haven’t found the right man yet.” Chaewon counters, smiling smugly.

“I have a _boyfriend.”_ Choerry reiterates monotonously with narrowed eyes. 

“I know,” Chaewon says without skipping a beat. 

Hyejoo gasps to feign innocence. “He’s a human boy? I thought he was another rat you were saving from the sewers!”

Choerry sighs in defeat, while Hyejoo smirks triumphantly even though she was already stressing out over her randomized pick. The emo eighth grader takes out her paper and reads the name cursively scribbled in purple ink it once more.

**Choerry**

***

It’s 10AM later that day when Principal Haseul realizes she’s left important paperwork in her car. Stepping out of her plush leather chair, she greets some students passing by with finger guns before exiting through the glass doors of the school office.

At the top of the St. Jihyo’s hill, the staff parking lot is located conveniently right around the corner from the main office. Haseul walks humming the tune of ‘Mistletoe’ by Justin Bieber, which currently booms through the school’s external speakers (connected to her Christmas playlist, of course). Christmas season in SoCal doesn’t look like the snowy days in movies - it’s more like a regular, slightly chillier sunny day - but Haseul never has trouble getting into the holiday spirit.

The short principal unlocks her orange Kia Soul and quickly retrieves the paperwork she was missing. Just as she’s stepping out and locking the car again, her attention is stolen by a car’s hum approaching her from behind.

The gleaming vehicle happened to be the _very_ pretty convertible (a 1959 red Corvette Stingray to be exact) that Haseul had caught a glimpse of and admired in the St. Jihyo’s teachers’ parking lot, but had never known the identity of its owner. She’d assume Ms. Chungha, if she had to take a guess. 

Which is why she nearly chokes when she sees who is behind the steering wheel.

Flaming sleek orange hair, sunglasses below perfect bangs, and the confidence of a fearless driver, Ms. Vivi Wong is pulling her car in smoothly into the spot right next to where Principal Haseul is standing.

The normally soft-spoken, sweet art teacher looks like a sexy Hollywood movie star, and Haseul is staring shamelessly with wide eyes and hitched breath.

Suddenly Haseul is spilling her papers all over the ground. “Oh geez…” she mutters as she scrambles to collect them in a homosexually induced panic. 

The low hum of Vivi’s Corvette stops, and the art teacher notices Haseul is collecting her belongings from the floor. “Ahh! Do you need help?” Vivi offers generously, removing her rose-tinted sunglasses.

“N-No! No I got it!” Haseul responds shakily, arranging her papers. Vivi, alluring as ever, gets out of the car with a flowing white dress and that captivating warm smile. 

Once the principal has her paperwork in order, she meets Vivi’s chocolate brown eyes. “This is your _car?!”_ Haseul questions.

Vivi giggles a “Yes!” humbly, yet in a way like it was obvious all along. “I thought you knew?”

“Oh my gosh, no,” Haseul breathes, gently running her hand along the shiny convertible’s door. The vintage car looks good as new. “Did…” Haseul pretends not to know his wretched name for a few seconds as she tucks some short black hair behind her ear. “Did Nathaniel get this for you…?” 

Vivi leans over the car’s back door to grab her purse and lunch bag with a smirk. “His full name is Nathan,” she giggles.

 _Nathan,_ Haseul mouths when Vivi isn’t looking, like the principal just swallowed a mouthful of dish soap. 

“And no, he didn’t… I’ve had this for many years,” and she leaves it at that, while Haseul stares in awe of how gorgeously maintained the car is. “I missed your voice this morning,” Vivi says quietly.

Haseul really chokes this time. She’s gagging and coughing trying to catch her breath, and croaks out a “What?” Is she dreaming?

“Morning announcements,” Vivi clarifies, soft-spoken. 

“Oh!” Haseul smiles as she regains her cool. “Oh yeah. Well, you didn’t miss anything really except that Dungeons and Dragons club is meeting tomorrow, so put that one in your schedule.” Haseul says, earning melodic laughter from her beautiful co worker behind the convertible. “How was your doctor’s appointment…? Any… Cysts?” Haseul adds awkwardly, and has to take a breath wishing she didn’t because _What the hell was that, what on Earth did you just say._

Ms. Wong is giggling at the ridiculous comment. “Did you just ask me if I have any cysts?”

“...Yes,” Principal Haseul confirms lowly, embarrassed. 

“No, no cysts were brought to my attention… Thank you. No one ever asks about the cysts,” Vivi smiles as she cultivates their repartee.

“Oh no problem ma’am.” Haseul replies with a funny voice and a smile. 

The two begin to walk together to enter back into the school office as prepubescent Justin Bieber digitally serenades them in the background. 

“Secretary Yongsun!” Haseul calls excitedly upon seeing the dark-haired older woman rolling her eyes at the front desk, who was in the bathroom earlier. “My BOY!” 

“I am a woman.” Yongsun replies flatly.

“How’s it going homeskillet,” Principal Haseul snickers, Ms. Wong entertained at her side. 

Yongsun, however, is not amused.

“Oh come on, I’m just saying hi. I can’t say hi?” Haseul giggles while Yongsun stares at her with an exasperated straight face. 

“Is there something you need Principal Haseul.” 

“Yes, um. Do you have any more of those strawberry candies behind your desk that old women always have. Ms. Wong always wants to ask for one but she’s too scared of you to ask.”

 _“Haseul…!”_ Vivi hisses in embarrassment.

“Yes.” Secretary Yongsun says dryly, then opens a drawer to pull out one, then hands it to Vivi. 

“How about one for me queen,” Haseul chortles. Yongsun just stares at her. “Alriiight.” Haseul winks.

“Anything else,” Yongsun glares.

“No, we’ll go now...” 

Yongsun is still giving Haseul no emotion whatsoever, and Vivi has to turn away to keep herself from being seen giggling. 

With that, the principal and the art teacher suppress more laughter until they are down the brightly lit corridor to exit the office, like students who had just gotten out of trouble.

Vivi thinks that maybe if she had known Haseul when she was a student, school would’ve been a lot more fun.

***

“Yeri, what the fuck?” 

Yeojin was looking at her friend, who had just paraded into the school library in the most obnoxious outfit alive.

Yeri had changed from her normal diva outfit of the day, into something that Yeojin didn’t even know how to begin describing. She had on black leather pants, matching boots, a loose black shirt, and giant circular sunglasses looming over her face. 

This normally wouldn’t cause much alarm, except for the fact that she had on a giant black fur coat on that basically engulfed the tiny human’s entire body.

“What?” Yeri says, as if she had been walking around like this all day.

“Why are you wearing that? How are you wearing that?” Yeojin asks, eyebrows knitted together.

“I have extra clothes in my locker in case of emergencies.” She states, as if it was the most obvious fact in the world. “And you told me we were going to talk to Chad so I wanted to dress intimidating. Like a powerful, rich woman.” Yeri says, with light in her eyes and her nose in the air.

“You look like Cee Lo Green.” Yeojin says, making the other girl huff.

“Don’t be mean to me or I won’t help you.” Yeri says in a voice reminiscent of a very accurate Ariana Grande impersonation that greatly contrasts with the raspiness of her friend’s. 

“You literally asked me to include you in this, I told you I didn’t-” 

Before Yeojin finishes however, Chad enters the room, heading to his usual corner of the room. 

Without any of Chad’s friends being in the same study hall as he was, it was as if all two brain cells in the eighth grader’s skull needed a break from functioning. The result? This period was Chad’s nap time, and Yeojin and Yeri usually enjoyed shooting paper balls into his snoring mouth. 

Except today, in which the two girls had other plans.

They follow him until he sits down, behind one of the bookshelves just enough to be out of sight of Mrs. Hwasa sitting at the checkout desk. Chad doesn’t notice the girls until he looks up from where he’s sitting. He jumps at the sight. “Wha-” 

But before he can even finishes his sentence, Yeojin holds up a finger.

“Your stench is already incinerating my nostrils so we’re going to make this quick.”

Chad tries to speak again, but Yeojin places her hands on the table.

“If you try to release the poison that is your breath onto us one more time, we _will_ throw up all over you and that’s a promise.” Yeojin moves back, crossing her arms. Chad is about to protest when Yeri gags exaggeratedly, as if she’s about to vomit. 

“Everything okay over there?” Mrs. Hwasa says, leaning in her chair to see the unusual group of classmates. 

Yeri turns to give her an innocent thumbs up, and Hwasa goes back to her normal position. Yeri looks back at Chad, who just sits, staring at both girls expectantly.

“Listen,” Yeojin starts. “We’re just here to remind you to get your girlfriend a Christmas present. Because she kind of deserves it don’t you think?” she asks, but it sounds more like a threat than a question.

“I never get her gifts.” Chad barks bluntly. “Because then she’ll expect them all the time, and I can’t do that.” 

Yeri slams her fists hard on the table, but it’s muffled by her giant furry coat sleeves. _“Well,_ you seem to expect her to do stuff for you all the time and she never complains.” 

“Why would she complain about that? She likes helping me study and all that nerdy shit.” The eighth grade boy says, mouth hanging open as if this much conversation is actually frying his brain.

“Look Eric Trump, I don’t know what the _fuck_ Choerry sees in you, but apparently getting a gift from your sorry ass will bring her joy. So you better give her something nice. _Or else.”_ Yeojin states in a hushed tone, trying not to let her threat be heard from the librarian not too far away.

“Or else what? I’m like 20 feet taller than both of you.” Chad says, crossing his arms.

Yeri slaps Chad across the face so hard it echoes through the entire school building, sending the boy clutching for his cheek.

“What the _FUCK!?”_ Chad whispers a little too loudly, causing Hwasa so shush them aggressively from her desk. They wait a beat until they are sure she isn’t looking. 

“Here’s what’s going to happen.” Yeojin says leaning in close, trying her best not to breathe through her nose. “You’re going to get our good friend Choerry a gift, and as long as you do, we will _consider_ not telling your basketball coach that you’re stealing homework from your girlfriend without her knowing. I think that’s punishable by team dismissal, isn’t it Yeri?”

“Yes. And also possibly _death_.” The other girl responds.

Yeojin’s face crinkles up as she looks at her friend in confusion. Yeri shrugs and Yeojin turns back around to sneer at Chad. He makes eye contact with the smaller girl.

“But she knows I’m taking the homework?” Chad says, clearly less confident than he was a minute ago.

“Who’s your coach going to believe?” Yeojin says, eyes squinting at the sweating boy in front of her. “You, or our angel of a class president who’s never had one blemish on her record the entire time she’s been alive?” 

Chad sits for a moment in silence, before taking a long sigh and rolling his eyes. 

“You bitches are so fucking annoying.” He tries to sound insulting, but his leg shakes under the table nervously at their threat. Chad looks back at them angrily. “Fine.” 

“Thought so.” Yeri says, as Yeojin moves back up to a standing position next to her. 

They are about to walk away when Yeri turns back quickly. 

“Do you know what deodorant is?” She asks, but Yeojin pulls her away before he can respond.

“He’s probably going to Google that word now.” Yeojin chuckles, and Yeri follows in laughter.

“Eduardo smells better than him. And he’s homeless.” Yeri says, and Yeojin stops in her tracks to face her.

“Hey. Never compare Eduardo to that greasy asshole ever again. At least Eduardo can do eighth grade math.” Yeojin says, sending both short girls into giggles.

“Anyway, enough about gross men. Let’s talk about how Mrs. Hwasa is looking fine as hell today...” Yeojin mentions as they get closer to the checkout desk, where the smaller girl is looking the grown woman up and down.

“Oh Jesus Christ.” Yeri says, but before she can even comment on their teacher’s appearance, Yeojin is strutting up to the woman.

“Hey Mrs. Hwasa…” Yeojin says, making her voice three times deeper and winking at the teacher.

Yeri rolls her eyes, but follows her partner of crime in support. 

Of course she does. When doesn’t she?

***

“Do you ever wonder why Fergie was in the Black Eyed Peas with those three men? Like what was the group dynamic?” Haseul asks inquisitively as she takes another stab at her Chinese chicken salad.

Vivi tilts her head to the side introspectively as she finishes a bite of her panini. “I think she lost a bet or something. Like, ‘Haha Fergie, if the Lakers lose tonight, you have to form a mainstream hip-hop group with us.’ You know?” 

The two were currently in the teacher’s lounge eating lunch together at their usual round table in the center of the room. Sometimes, they would eat in the art teacher’s classroom because they both preferred privacy and a quieter setting despite how loud they could get sometimes. But today, the teacher’s lounge was peaceful enough since most of the sixth and seventh grade teachers were out on a field trip.

Principal Haseul stops eating to hold her hand up dramatically. “Their song ‘Where Is The Love?’ is something else. First and foremost the song turned me into a human rights activist. I think if we played that song on loudspeakers all over the entire planet I feel like ISIS would just immediately disband.”

Vivi giggles in endearment. “You’re so crazy.”

“I’m serious!” Haseul says with a smile in response to Vivi’s laughter. “I had a vision about this in the middle of the night. Not a dream. A vision. Like a psychic attack.” 

“That’s what keeps you up at night?” The art teacher looks to the principal with a warm gaze, brown eyes with specks of gold from the sunlight shining in from the window.

“Well…” The principal takes another stab at her salad. Haseul can’t exactly say to Vivi that _she_ is what keeps her up at night. But ever since the dodgeball incident weeks ago, there’s definitely been more on her mind. “That and some other things.”

Vivi’s eyebrows furrow in concern at the sight of something clearly bothering her friend, then turns over at Haseul’s side to completely face her. “Talk to me.”

Haseul smiles at the gesture. Whenever Haseul happens to be upset over anything, Vivi is always there to be a listening ear. Haseul tells colorful tales of just about every aspect of her current home life - but Vivi, on the other hand, rarely discusses her personal life ever. The teacher is just as mysterious as she is attractive. Haseul has tried to get Vivi about herself before, but was always given short responses; Vivi clearly doesn’t want to dive into it. So until then, Haseul will wait - and Vivi will continue to be there for her.

Haseul blushes just a bit at her forwardness, then looks away to stab her salad once more. “Well you know about the dodgeball thing right.”

Vivi nods. (She doesn’t really, not in all its entirety - all Ms. Wong really knows about that day is that Hyejoo Ha from one of her art classes was suspended for seriously injuring most of the class with dodgeballs in some fit of rage, and that her own daughter Chaewon wasn’t injured at all because of their close friendship. And that’s about all the Principal knows too.)

“Well the parent meetings have not stopped. Sometimes it's the same ones that come back.” Haseul sighs a little, eyes trained at the coffee machine at the other side of the room. “And... They’re demanding to know what happened. And then, you know, I have to just sit there tell them that I don’t know. Firing Coach Wonho wasn’t nearly enough.” 

“Haven’t you interviewed every single kid who was in the room?” Vivi asks.

“Yeah. And _every_ kid is giving me the same story. I _know_ there’s more to it, I can feel some of them really holding back. But no one is cracking! I’ve even offered them METH. I don’t even _have_ meth! And still... Nothing.” Haseul takes a deep sigh. “It’s almost like… Like they’ve all collectively sworn themselves to secrecy.” 

What Haseul doesn’t know is that yes, every child in the room had sworn to keep their mouths shut on Nayeon’s plot. Besides the Tiddie Jugglers, every other student who took part in the sadistic bullying had experienced Nayeon raining down a plethora of threats on them - from her very powerful mothers suing them all, to her threatening to do it all over again a hundred times worse to a culprit at the first hint of the beans being spilled.

“I’m sure if anyone can figure it out, it’s you.” Vivi says with unshaken faith. “And even if you don’t, this was not your fault Haseul... You couldn’t have possibly known that was going to happen. Kids go crazy sometimes.” 

Haseul tries to smile slightly, but appears more distraught than comforted. Vivi reaches out to place her hand on top of Haseul’s. 

“It’s going to be okay. Really.” Vivi says, rubbing her thumb across Haseul’s palm. “These students are your whole heart, and everybody knows that.”

Haseul’s face flushes at the intimacy and she clears her throat awkwardly. “Well I hope so. Because on top of this, I’m going to have to bake cookies with Yeojin soon, and that child is so bad at any kind of coordination that isn’t lyrical.” 

Vivi takes another bite of her lunch and then sits up. 

“Well what if I come over and help when you do? On the day of the fundraiser? Chaewon isn’t good at baking either, so maybe we can help each other...?” Vivi offers boldly.

“You- Wait, you mean coming to my hou-” Haseul chokes on her salad suddenly. 

After a series of coughs and Vivi being very worried, the principal eventually regains her composure. “S-Sure! I’ll let you know.” Haseul coughs out nervously.

“Sounds like a plan.” Vivi smiles in the warm sunlight, causing never-ending butterflies to return to Haseul’s stomach. “So, tell me again about the Black Eyed Peas?”

***

Later that night, Jiwoo Ha examines a price tag on a particularly extra large Christmas tree as the cold wind of the night blows through her hair. Caroling children sing in the background, as she scans the luxury lot of giant Christmas trees. 

Crunching footsteps increase in volume from around the corner down another aisle of towering trees, and her beloved Sooyoung reappears, lowering her phone into her black coat’s pocket. She rejoins Jiwoo at her side. 

“Everything okay honey?” the celebrity asks gently, checking up on Sooyoung who had to take a sudden phone call.

“Yes,” Sooyoung responds warmly, and interlaces her bare fingers with Jiwoo’s softly gloved ones together again. 

Jiwoo resumes her peaceful analysis of the Christmas tree for sale in front of her.

It was late enough for Jiwoo and Sooyoung to go out without needing to call their bodyguard, so while their daughter lounged at home (with Hyunjin’s supervision) they had decided to shop again for another Christmas tree. After all, you can never have enough when your house is hundreds of thousands of square feet.

“My grandmother died.” The fashion CEO adds with nonchalance.

Her wife immediately turns to look back at her with an extremely alarmed pair of eyes. _“What?!”_ Jiwoo asks loudly, then softens in concern and takes both of her wife’s hands in her own to keep warm. “Sooyoungie…”

“It’s fine,” the taller woman says, in a tone just steely enough to be guarded but just soft enough to let her wife in. She offers Jiwoo a weak, closed-mouthed smile. “She was kind to me. Once in a while,” Sooyoung laments as Jiwoo rubs softly gloved thumbs over the backs of her wife’s palms.

Wind whistles through the Christmas trees surrounding them. Jiwoo cups her wife’s cheek with even more gentleness than she naturally gives to the rest of the world. “Are you okay?” 

Sooyoung leans into Jiwoo’s touch, and lightly nods her head. “I’m okay,” she whispers back calmly. “The funeral is in two days though.”

 _“Two days?_ And they just told you _now?”_ Jiwoo’s eyebrows knit together in frustration towards her wife’s family. “The private jet takes at least half a day to prep! And the flight to Korea alone is going to be-” 

“Don’t worry, I’ve already arranged everything. I’ll leave the morning after tomorrow. I’ll be back before you know it.” Sooyoung lifts her hands to cup her wife’s cheeks and give her a slow, loving kiss below the Christmas trees.

They come apart delicately, while Jiwoo’s eyes flutter open. The celebrity nods with a sigh, their noses gently brushing against each other. 

Despite Jiwoo’s interactions with her wife’s family being little to none, she knows all about the cruelty Sooyoung had experienced throughout her life. Just thinking about it made her bright heart sink. 

“You don’t have to go baby,” Jiwoo whispers against her beloved’s lips. 

“I want to.” Sooyoung’s hands rest on Jiwoo’s back, keeping her close. “They all think I won’t have the guts.”

If there’s any peak in Sooyoung’s life where she wants to show herself on full display, it’s now.

Jiwoo’s heart hurts with the pain that she knows her soulmate is about to go through, even more so knowing that going with her would only worsen the situation. She wants to tell Sooyoung that she has nothing to prove, that her family will never deserve Sooyoung’s hidden but constant longing for their elusive acceptance and admiration - but she has no idea what it’s like to not be loved by those who raised her.

“Don’t leave me at home alone for too long,” Jiwoo says as if her wife is going off to war (well, the reality isn’t too far off). 

Sooyoung carefully brings her wife’s body flush against her own as the children continue to carol in the distance. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” she says, before connecting their lips once more, taking in the warmth of her angel before she is forced to confront the frigidity of her own bloodline.

***

The next afternoon, Hyejoo fumbles with her keys to open the front door of her mansion.

She had gotten a ride home from Chaewon and Ms. Wong after the squad decided to make another stop at McDonald’s after school. Hyejoo now had plans to ask her more loving mother if the two of them could quickly go to the mall to find something for their Secret Santa gift exchange.

Hyejoo successfully opens the door, flinging her backpack to the side.

“MOOOOM!” Hyejoo yells, only to jump backwards in shock as the mother she _didn’t_ want to summon appears from right behind the Ha estate’s front door.

“Yes?” Sooyoung says, voice completely passionless.

“Jesus Christ,” Hyejoo says, clutching her chest. “Why were you right behind the door?”

“Your mother, um, left her phone on the key table.” Sooyoung responds, awkwardly holding up a bright pink iPhone.

 _“HYEJOOOOOO!”_ Jiwoo squeals as she runs down the stairs to welcome her daughter home, floral sundress flowing behind her. 

She was basically suffocating her little girl in her arms as Sooyoung stood to the side, not really knowing what to do in that moment. “How was school?”

“Mmmpf.” Hyejoo’s voice was muffled into her mother’s breast before she was released from her grip. Ever since she went back to school after being suspended, Jiwoo had been _really_ hovering over her every move when she was at home. Hyejoo knew that Jiwoo could tell her daughter wasn’t telling the truth about her suspension, and that Jiwoo was pretty sure that breathing down her child’s neck (literally) was some sort of tactic into revealing the whole story. The only time that Hyejoo got true peace and quiet was when she locked herself in her room.

“I’m fine. It was fine.” Hyejoo says, scrunching her nose after it had been squished into her mom’s body. “I have a question actually.”

“Sure!” Jiwoo says, looking at her daughter with bright eyes. Sooyoung raises an eyebrow next to her, listening in as well.

“Um, I need to go to the mall to get my friend a gift for Secret Santa. Will you take me?” She asks, her voice getting softer the longer the sentence got. 

“I LOVE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!” Jiwoo cheers. “Sooyoungie did you find my phone? I need to text Eunseo if I’m going out in public.” 

Sooyoung nods and hands her the phone. Jiwoo immediately starts texting the family bodyguard as the taller woman looks down to make eye contact with Hyejoo. 

“Um.” Sooyoung starts awkwardly, and suddenly all attention is on her. “...Can I go... too? I want to spend time with you… two.” She cringes out, looking up at Jiwoo.

Hyejoo slumps slightly at the thought of being in the car with both of her mothers. They’re not exactly the most... comfortable people to go on a drive with.

Jiwoo, on the other hand, grins with eyes illuminated just as bright as a Ha mansion Christmas tree.

“OF COURSE YOU CAN COME! This is gonna be so much fun!” Jiwoo squeals as she pinches the cheeks of both loves of her life at the same time.

Sooyoung smiles warmly at Jiwoo as she claps her hands together.

“Well come on! We don’t have time to waste, Eunseo is meeting us at the mall! Let’s go!” Jiwoo says, grabbing her purse from the key table and making her way to the garage.

Sooyoung and Hyejoo follow behind, and as Hyejoo closes the door to their home she can’t help but say a little prayer for her wellbeing.

She’s going to need it. 

***

Hyejoo really, _really_ regrets not bringing her airpods. 

Whenever (on the rare occasion) that the eighth grader found herself in the family Lamborghini with _both_ of her mothers, she always made sure to bring the earphones to block out their rainbow noise. But the three of them had left the house so abruptly that Hyejoo had unfortunately forgotten the airpods in her school backpack.

And the ride so far without the noise cancellation has made her want to fire roll into moving traffic.

Actually, the trip had been going fairly alright in comfortable silence until Jiwoo took the liberty of turning on the radio. 

The host of the radio show finishes her sentence, and an all-too familiar voice rings through the luxury car’s speakers.

_“Let’s take our tiiiime toniiiiight… GIRL!”_

At the sound of Bruno Mars’s voice, Jiwoo shrieks and practically chokes on the strawberry banana smoothie in her hand, her hand immediately reaching over to the steering wheel dangerously to grab Sooyoung’s hand. The entire car could have crashed in that one quantised moment of chaos, but Sooyoung’s once serious expression instantly morphs into a smile.

“Please change it, please change it,” Hyejoo begs from the back, knowing that the performance she’s about to involuntarily receive is going to be 300 times more cringe-worthy without the buffer of her airpods.

 _“THERE’S NO PLACE I’D RAAAAAAATHER BE IN THIS WOOOOOORLD!”_ Jiwoo belts out perfectly, her volume overpowering the radio’s completely. _“YOUR EYES ARE WHERE I’M LOOOST IN!”_

 **_“UNDERNEATH! THE CHAAAAANDELIER! WE’RE DANCING ALL ALOOOONE!”_ **Sooyoung has now joined Jiwoo in performance, the married couple singing cringey lyrics in unison while Hyejoo buries her head in her hands and groans in the backseat.

“Please no,” Hyejoo begs one more time, but Jiwoo turns around happily to their daughter and begins to tickle her from the front seat, making Hyejoo scream and retract in horror. Sooyoung finishes the verse with her elegant and light singing voice that is unexpectedly pleasant considering how much of the day she spends barking at her subordinates.

 **_“SO BABY LET’S JUST TUUURN DOWN THE LIIIGHTS, AND CLOSE THE DOOOR! OOOOOOOOOooh I LOVE THAT DRESS BUT YOU WON’T NEED! IT! AAAANYMORE!!!”_ **Jiwoo growls the last sentence animalistically at her wife in the driver’s seat.

“Hi if anyone is seeing this message I just want everyone to know,” Hyejoo says into her Snapchat video recording, “that I am going to kill myself. I am going to-” Hyejoo is cut off by her mothers singing even louder to the sexually-charged anthem of the year.

**_“NO YOU WON’T NEED IT NO MORE, LEEEET’S JUST KISS ‘TIL WE’RE NAAAAAKED, BAAABY, VERSACE ON THE FLOOR!”_ **

The beat drops, and Jiwoo is now trying to twerk nonsensically in the car seat, lifting herself out of the seat and holding onto the grab handle above her for some type of support. Hyejoo screams in horror. 

 _“OOOOOO TAKE IT OFF FOR ME, FOR ME, FOR ME, FOR ME NOW GIRL!”_ Sooyoung sings. _“Versace on the floor!”_

***

“This is a Nieman Marcus.” Hyejoo states dryly, as the eighth grader, her two billionaire mothers, and their Olympian bodyguard stand in the middle of the high-end department store, which is no place to find a gift under $20.

Hyejoo looks at the extremely ugly sweater next to her and picks up the price tag just to prove her point, and cringes at the value reading **$4,260.**  

“Yes? And why are you upset?” Sooyoung cocks her head, taken aback. 

Civilians walk by, some timidly lifting their phones to take pictures of the superstar family in between the racks of clothing.

“There are plenty of beautiful gifts to get her here,” Sooyoung says sweetly in her honeyed, privileged tone. The CEO briefly scans a rack of dresses, then picks out a particularly lovely one. “You can just get her this,” she says, holding it up in the air.

“Honey it’s gorgeous!” Jiwoo swoons, tone deaf to the fact that the gown is for a fully grown adult and not a fourteen year-old girl. “I love when you _pick things out,”_ the celebrity says to Sooyoung with an erotic tone of voice and a wink.

“This is so disgusting oh my God,” Hyejoo gags and turns away.

Just then, an unknown middle-aged man is seen running towards the family in their peripheral. _“CHUU! CHUU! CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH! CHUU!”_

Before he can get any closer, Eunseo grabs the man by the collar and throws him at full force onto a clothing rack, breaking the metal contraption with a loud crash and sending the stranger and all the dresses to the floor. Chuu waves at the fan who is now on the floor, as Eunseo returns to her position, silent and on watch.

“That dress is literally for a middle-aged woman.” Hyejoo says, not minding the commotion at all (it definitely wouldn’t be the first time this has happened). “Also it’s way too expensive…?” 

Sooyoung squints her calculating eyes at her child in disapproval. “Nothing is too expensive for us Hyejoo.” 

“Which one of your friends are you getting a gift for anyway? Is it _who I think it is...”_ Jiwoo teases, while Sooyoung narrows her eyes yet again in exclusion from this secret between them.

“NO,” Hyejoo says too aggressively with a furious blush. “IT’S- It’s Choerry,” 

“CHOERRY!” Jiwoo chirps excitedly, her voice echoing through the quiet department store. “I LOVE CHOERRY! I LOVE JUNGEUN! I LOVE JINSOL!”

“Get her a new mother,” Sooyoung hums under her breath.

“Oh gee, if I knew how to get one of those I would have done it already for myself,” Hyejoo glares at her taller mother. 

“Do _not_ _start_ with me in this _store_ Hyejoo-” The CEO growls.

“OKAY!!! OKAY,” Jiwoo smiles and laughs nervously, putting her hands on Sooyoung. “Then she should be used to getting expensive gifts!” The bubbly woman changes the subject, referring to the Kims’ massive fortune.

“Well we all agreed not to spend more than twenty dollars.”

Sooyoung gasps dramatically. _“Under twenty dollars?!”_ Sooyoung looks like she just witnessed a hate crime. “What could you _possibly_ buy for under twenty dollars!? A _rag?!”_

“I think you can get… Like… one pair of socks?” Jiwoo supplements innocently.

 _“You can’t even buy a singular diaper for less than twenty dollars!”_ Sooyoung hisses, much louder now.

Hyejoo’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Where are you buying your singular diapers?”

“I’ll tell you _what_ Hyejoo. For twenty dollars we can go to Cheesecake Factory and TAKE A _MINT_ FROM THE COUNTER, HOW DOES THAT SOUND.” 

The woman was speaking so loudly, that now that she was finished, the entire store had gone completely silent; even customers from relatively far positions were looking on at them. Sooyoung doesn’t even stop until she just so happens to notice the way Jiwoo was looking at her.

As their eyes meet, Jiwoo glares at Sooyoung, _hard_ , but soon removes eye contact to look at her child sympathetically. “I know the perfect place to get something for under twenty dollars don’t worry.” Jiwoo says calmly.

Without another word, Jiwoo takes Hyejoo’s hand and walks out of the store. Sooyoung, slightly ashamed, follows behind them.

***

“I’m just saying you didn’t have to yell at her.” Jiwoo says, as she walks her family to the opposite end of the high-end shopping mall. The peeved celebrity speaks to her CEO wife in a hushed tone as to not let their daughter, preoccupied by her iPhone, hear her.

“It was unnecessary, I know,” Sooyoung says, trying to keep up with Jiwoo, who was just walking way too quickly. “I-... I’m sorry-”

“I’m not the one you need to be telling that to.” Jiwoo replies concisely.

Sooyoung sighs. It _was_ unnecessary to yell... But she _was_ just speaking the truth. Before she can finish her train of thought though, Jiwoo stops abruptly after exiting a pair of the mall’s sliding glass doors.

“We have arrived!” The bright celebrity cheers into the open Beverly Hills air, chilly afternoon wind blowing through her hair.

Both Hyejoo and Sooyoung stand in silence in front of the brown and cream colored building, before Sooyoung decides to be the one to break it. 

“Honey, this is a CVS Pharmacy.” Sooyoung says seriously as the wind blows through her perfect hair. “This is not even apart of the mall.”

“So? They have so many things inside! Like Oprah magazine! THAT’S A GREAT GIFT!” Jiwoo struts inside happily, rosy pink designer purse swinging around her arm, while her girls stay behind very confused. 

Nevertheless, both family members (and their suited bodyguard) follow the superstar inside. 

The four women walk into the building in style seemingly out of this world, and customers of all walks of life stop what they’re doing to take in the unexpected sight of stars in the flesh in their lowly CVS. The ones who don’t look up are too busy reading magazines in which Jiwoo and Sooyoung don the covers of. The building’s aura is an odd mixture of familiar and clinical, which takes Sooyoung aback considering this is the first time she’s ever been to a normal American pharmacy in her life. 

A very large banner hanging from the ceiling catches the group’s attention. 

**FLU SHOTS HERE**

Jiwoo gasps in glee with a little cheer. “I love those! They’re still doing them!”

Hyejoo narrows her eyes at what her mother just said. “What?”

“Yes, I get one every time I come here!”

 _“WHAT?!”_ Hyejoo exclaims, eyes as wide as can be in alarm. “You get a flu shot _every time you come here?_ HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?”

“I am immune.” Her celebrity mother responds nonchalantly before her volume begins to increase. “Sneeze in my face. Do it. DO IT-” 

Jiwoo and Hyejoo are interrupted by Sooyoung’s heels clicking softly against the thin gray carpet towards them. The taller mother carries a pack of feminine care pads in her hand with a straight face, and hands them to Hyejoo. “You can give these to your friend. She menstruates, right?”

Hyejoo slams a palm to her face.

“Or are neither of you of menstruating age,” Sooyoung continues. 

“I MENSTRUATE! GOD!” Hyejoo clarifies very loudly in the CVS for all nearby customers to hear. 

“Fine, what about this,” Sooyoung holds up a sizable bag of-

“ _Dog food?!”_ Hyejoo cannot believe her eyes.

“Well your mother showed me a picture of her and she resembles a small dog anyway.” Sooyoung replies plainly. 

“That picture was Chaewon honey, not Choerry,” Jiwoo clarifies. 

Their eighth grader fumes with grinding teeth, but feels the need to change the subject immediately. “Did you know Mom gets a flu shot every time she comes here?”

The CEO’s eyes widen at her wife in immense panic. “SWEETIE!? YOU TOLD ME THOSE WERE BUG BITES ON YOUR ARM!” 

“I said they _looked_ like bug bites because they do!” Jiwoo defends casually, then looks to an employee a few aisles away. “WAITER!” she calls. 

The middle-aged employee turns to look at them with a perplexed expression. 

“Excuse me sir, do you have anymore O magazines in the back?” Jiwoo asks.

“Ermm. No, I don’t think so.” He says bluntly, and quickly walks away seeing Eunseo eyeing him for being just a tad closer to the family than five feet away.

The internet star’s face crumples together in yet another pout. “He didn’t even check the back...”

“Do you want me to order you O magazine sweetie pie? I thought you already had a subscription.” Sooyoung says, pulling out her phone regardless to place an order.

“Why would I even give another eighth grader Oprah’s magazine? You guys are so hopeless!” Hyejoo sighs, throwing her hands up in defeat and rubbing her eyes.

“Hey, your mother and I are trying our best alright.” Sooyoung looks up from her iPhone to make eye contact with Jiwoo at her side, except she isn’t there. “Um, where… where did your mother go?”

Hyejoo opens her eyes and looks around her. Neither Jiwoo nor Eunseo are anywhere in sight in the whole pharmacy. 

“Mom?” Hyejoo says, beginning to walk through the snack aisles, and Sooyoung walks to the cosmetics section.

“Honey?” Sooyoung calls loudly, moving through the aisles hastily until she runs directly into her daughter. “Oh God, where did she go?” Sooyoung says, taking out her phone once more about to call her wife.

“Hey,” Jiwoo says from directly behind her daughter and wife, scaring them both. Eunseo is positioned professionally behind her.

“Where were you?” Sooyoung asks, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Well, the worker didn’t check the back, so I wanted to see for myself.” Jiwoo explains. “But I went to the back and didn’t find anything. Just a few big dumpsters and a couple of trees.” 

Silence.

“Did… Wait… The back room, or the back of the… building?” Hyejoo hesitantly asks.

“Yeah!” Jiwoo says, neglecting to answer the prompt. “There’s like nothing back there, I don’t even know how they can restock!” 

Both Sooyoung and Hyejoo look at Eunseo quizzically, who just shrugs. “My job is to follow her around.” The bodyguard says sternly.

Sooyoung opens her mouth to say something after a pause, but Jiwoo has already started scanning the pharmaceutical area right behind them. She picks up a pill bottle.

“What about this!” She says holding it up to show Hyejoo.

“Mom why would I give her Advil.” Hyejoo squints.

Jiwoo looks at the bottle and shrugs. “I don’t know what you kids are popping these days…” She looks around, and her face brightens. “Maybe there’s something cooler in there!” the celebrity says, pointing to the pharmacy office door that leads to the stock of people’s prescriptions.

“Honey,” Sooyoung starts.

“Mom, no,” Hyejoo says at the same time.

Neither one of them stop Jiwoo from walking directly into the office and grabbing a clinically sealed bag off the shelf. 

“This looks so cool!” Jiwoo says holding up a shot of insulin.

“Excuse me ma’am, you cannot be back here.” An older gentleman in a white coat approaches Jiwoo, trying to take the bag from her. However, the celeb’s grip is so relentless that Hyejoo has to step forward and unclasp her fingers.

The man finally has the bag in his grasp. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to ask you to leave the store.”

Jiwoo just smiles sweetly. “I’m sorry but do you know who I am?” 

“No?” The older man says, looking her up and down.

Hyejoo leans over to her mother. “So what now?” She whispers.

“I don’t know, no one’s ever said no before.” Jiwoo whispers back.

“Ma’am this is a CVS,” the employee says.

“MA’AM THIS IS A WENDY’S!” Jiwoo yells back at the man nonsensically.

“NO, THIS IS A CVS, AND YOU NEED TO LEAVE.”

“I’m sorry is there a problem sir?” Sooyoung asks, her authoritative executive voice showing itself.

“Yes, this deranged woman is trying to steal drugs. I’m going to have to kick you all out of the store.”

“Did you just called my wife _deranged?_ I’m sorry, but do you know who we are?” Sooyoung counters.

“I DON’T KNOW WHO ANY OF YOU ARE!” The man screams frustratedly, flailing his arms around. “GET OUT OF THE STO-” 

Suddenly, Eunseo tackles the man forward like an attack dog for raising his voice, and the two crash into the giant aisles of prescription while the shelves begin to fall backward noisily in a domino-like manner. 

“Oh my God,” Hyejoo says, overwhelmed at all the commotion her parents are causing. “Mom, we need to go-” 

“ATTENTION CITIZENS OF CVS PHARMACY, THIS IS CHUU SPEAKING.” Jiwoo has now taken control of the intercom on the pharmacy’s counter to boom her voice throughout the entire store. She then violently pulls the fire alarm on the wall next to her, as sirens ring through the store and sprinklers spray water all over the products. “EVACUATE THIS STORE IMMEDIATELY. THERE IS A MASSIVE CONSPIRACY HAPPENING HERE. THIS STORE IS BEING RUN BY LIZARDS. THERE IS NO BACK.” 

“Oh my _God_ we’re leaving,” The microphone screeches as Hyejoo grabs her mother from behind to pull her away from it. Employees and customers panic as they start to run out of the store, not even understanding Chuu’s orders but following their favorite celebrity’s commands blindly.

Hyejoo manages to pull Jiwoo away from the counter with Sooyoung’s help, and the three make their way to the emergency exit soon enough. 

Entering the open Southern California air as the CVS alarms go off behind them, the three and their bodyguard watch as everyone fully evacuates from the CVS. Some even do the famous Chuu apple heart right at Jiwoo, in which she immediately returns with a big smile. 

“Stay safe everyone!” Jiwoo shouts back. “Beware of fake news!” 

Meanwhile, Sooyoung trails her hand down her wife’s back to randomly palm her ass. “You got all of those people to leave CVS… That’s so hot.” Sooyoung admits quietly, causing Jiwoo to wriggle her eyebrows suggestively back at her wife.

Suddenly, Hyejoo flops facedown onto the sidewalk. Both mothers look at their daughter with concern.

“Hyejoo!? What’s wrong!?” Jiwoo says, bending down to see her daughter more clearly. Hyejoo turns over.

“Nothing. I just needed to control the situation and didn’t know how else to do that.” Hyejoo says solemnly. She sits up. “Can we go to a store that I pick now?”

Jiwoo and Sooyoung side eye each other, but both nod, helping their daughter up so their middle schooler can lead them through the mall.

***

“Why is there a cave in the mall?” 

Hyejoo had finally stopped walking in front of a dark store with black walls and gothic decor; Sooyoung stands very confused.

“This is a Hot Topic.” Hyejoo says.

“Caves are a hot topic? Teenagers don’t make any sense.” Sooyoung says bluntly.

“Look at the sign hag.” Hyejoo says, rolling her eyes. 

“What did you just call me-” Sooyoung barks back, not being able to stand her own daughter.

Jiwoo pats Sooyoung’s arm excitedly. “Baby, I know this place!” She says, basically jumping up and down.

“You do?” Sooyoung and Hyejoo say in unison.

“YES! I have a deal with them look look look!” Jiwoo points inside the store at a section with her face on a giant sign above the shelves. She runs inside to view it, and her family follows.

In the section are various objects of Chuu merchandise. Socks, shirts, pencil cases, backpacks, even earrings with different emojis resembling the internet sensation.

While both of her parents were ogling Chuu’s display, Hyejoo walks to the other side of the room, quickly deciding on a small plush toy that she knows Choerry will like. She nods in agreement with what she’s chosen and goes to the counter where she is about to wave over her mothers, but only registers Sooyoung staring at the wall of fandom t-shirts in disgust.

“Where-” Hyejoo starts, but Jiwoo appears quickly next to her carrying various items with her own face plastered all over them.

“Are you ready to check out? Me too! HONEY!” Jiwoo calls for Sooyoung’s attention, and the elitist CEO walks over to them carefully, making sure not to touch anything on the way as if the products were contagious with troubled teen disease.

Exiting the store after completing checkout, Hyejoo holds her small bag and Jiwoo holds multiple large ones all with items of her own brand.

“Alright, are we ready to go home?” Jiwoo asks happily, looking down at her daughter.

“Thank God.” Sooyoung says, beginning to pull out the car keys from her purse. However, Hyejoo’s foot is twisting on the floor to point in another direction.

“Um, actually,” She says shyly, looking anywhere but her parents’ eyes. “I need to get another present.” 

“For who?” Sooyoung asks, squinting her eyes as Jiwoo tilts her head in curiosity.

“Uh. It’s for someone else.” Hyejoo says basically whispering, not able to stop her cheeks from heating up. Jiwoo notices, and gasps.

“FOR YOUR GIRLFRIEEEND?” Jiwoo says in a high pitched and playful voice, causing Hyejoo to become even redder. Sooyoung raises an eyebrow.

“ _No!_ I just want to get someone a nice gift that’s all.” Hyejoo says, looking away so her parents don’t see her turning into a tomato.

“Who is it! Who is it come on tell me who who who who!” Jiwoo says, absolutely invading her daughter’s personal space in the process. Hyejoo just swats her away.

“She’s just a friend,” the eighth grader chokes out unconvincingly. 

“Can it be over $20? Because if not, I’m not buying it.” Sooyoung says looking down at her daughter.

“Probably. I um… I think I want to get her a necklace...” Hyejoo trails off, doing her best to not sound like she’s been planning this gift since last Christmas.

“Alright, I have the perfect idea for that.” Sooyoung says, beginning to walk but doesn’t even get to turn around before Hyejoo is speaking again.

“I... Actually already have an idea.” Hyejoo says, and Sooyoung huffs.

“Hyejoo, I’m sure my idea is better. You’re just a teenager that doesn’t even know anything about jewelry. Plus, I have better fashion taste. I mean look at what you’re wearing.” Sooyoung says seriously, not even hearing how horrible she sounds. 

Hyejoo doesn’t know how to argue, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in the casual wear she has on. Jiwoo glares at her wife, clearly indicating that Sooyoung crossed yet another line.

“You know what!” Jiwoo suddenly claps her hands together. “Hyejoo and I will go get her necklace, and we are going to meet you in the car!” 

Sooyoung is taken aback at her sudden exclusion, but Jiwoo continues. “Go ahead Eunseo and Hyejoo, I’ll be right there.” She says. 

With slight hesitation, Hyejoo and Eunseo start moving away from the married couple towards the store the eighth grader wants to purchase the gift at.

Sooyoung looks at her wife, unsure of what just happened. “Did I do something?” She asks, puppy dog eyes making an appearance.

“Stop that.” Jiwoo scolds. “You were being _so_ mean to her. She’s obviously been thinking about this gift and you just made her feel bad about not only that, but herself in general.” 

“I was just being honest!” Sooyoung defends immediately. “Jiwoo, she’s a child.” 

“Exactly Sooyoung. She’s a child. _Our_ child. So why do you talk to her like she’s an adult beneath you?” Jiwoo asks, causing Sooyoung to close her mouth. 

Jiwoo takes a deep breath in frustration.

“We will meet you in the car.” The celebrity says dryly, before stepping away to join Hyejoo from across the mall floor without another word.

Sooyoung watches her family until they’re out of sight with a guilty conscience. 

Then, she walks back to the Lamborghini alone.

***

Fallen snow crunches beneath her feet the next day.

After a restless thirteen hour flight and a million regrets running through Sooyoung’s head, it is now time for her to make her appearance at her grandmother’s funeral.

Her home country of South Korea reminds her of nothing but the sounds of screaming penetrating her small home’s walls, shattering of china from downstairs, and the buzzing of her dim ceiling light being the only thing to keep her company. But here she is, showing up - all just to prove that she is stronger than they think.

The private jet had landed just hours ago, and she hadn’t gotten much sleep on the thirteen hour flight due to obvious reasons. It didn’t help that Jiwoo was still upset with her. Exhausted, the billionaire's thick Saint Laurent shades cover the bags under her eyes.

Despite her fatigue though, her heart pounds in her chest as she approaches the entrance to the funeral home. 

Fear compiles within her overwhelmingly as she begins to recognize some of the faces of those who stand by the entrance.

When Sooyoung opens the towering wooden doors to step inside, as if on cue the room begins to silence. Instead of feeling the normal surge of confidence she usually does upon turning heads, Sooyoung wants nothing more than to run away and never return.

For the first time in a long time, she feels small.

 

She _hates_ it.

 

The run-down funeral home itself is even more unsettling than she’d imagined - the ceiling is low and suffocating, the wooden pews all painted white to eerily match the rest of the room. Everything is low quality; Sooyoung Ha doesn’t exactly come from the most well-off family. In fact, here she stands with them, in her hometown - one of the poorest districts of South Korea.

Her grandmother’s ashes sit right in front of a large framed photo of the dead woman. As Sooyoung takes in her surroundings, glares and whispers of Korean slurs register immediately as she begins walking through the crowd toward the front of the room. 

Trying her best to ignore the haunting, hurtful words of her own bloodline, the CEO takes a seat at an empty pew on the left. 

Sooyoung stares at the front of the room feeling purposeless and regretting COMING all this way, _especially_ while hearing her relatives whisper the worst things about her in close proximity.

But she instead of defending herself, she sits with her mouth shut, suddenly reverting back to the trained animal her family raised her to be. She waits for the funeral service to commence.

That is, until she feels another woman gracefully entering the CEO’s pew. Sooyoung looks up.

Her mother, lo and behold, stares down at her with indescribable disdain.

Sooyoung’s throat goes dry.

“Sooyoung,” her mother says, like it pains her to force out the syllables.

“Mother,” Sooyoung replies, like it doesn’t. 

The older woman takes her seat adjacent to her daughter, and refuses to look at her, only staring forward. Sooyoung does the same.

“You embarrass me just by showing your face here.” Sooyoung’s mother snaps lowly in their native tongue. 

Sooyoung had played this scenario out plenty of times in her own head, planned out bountiful responses - yet for some reason, her jaw is locked in place and she is unable to speak. 

She told herself she would be strong enough.

Why isn’t she?

A few beats of silence pass. “Where is Father,” Sooyoung asks, hoping not to be blindsided by his sudden appearance.

Sooyoung’s mother hums. “Your father is working hard with other duties to take care of. He _is_ the man of the house, after all, and cannot just leave whenever he pleases. I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” her mother speaks slowly, eyes plastered to the front of the room. 

Sooyoung doesn’t even know whether her mother is referring to working hard, or having a man in the house, but her blood boils all the same.

“Still refusing to bring Hyejoo I see.” Her mother tuts in disapproval. “I still am yet to meet my granddaughter…”

“And you never will.” Sooyoung snaps back protectively.

“How horrible it must be for her,” the mother taps her nails rhythmically in her lap. “To grow up without a father… Only you and that braindead freak to raise her.”

White hot fire blazes through all of Sooyoung’s veins at the attack on Jiwoo. But her courage comes too little too late though, a broad Korean man around Sooyoung’s age walks into their pew and taps her mother’s shoulder gently.

“Good day, Mrs. Ha,” the mystery man says quietly, then takes her in for a seemingly sincere hug. “I am so sorry for your loss.” Sooyoung’s mother accepts the embrace graciously, causing her daughter to roll her eyes once more. 

When they break apart, the man looks Sooyoung up and down, eyeing her body. She winces under his hungry gaze.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” he says, looking between Sooyoung and her mother. “I’m Michael.”

“Sooyoung, this is Michael,” her mother says, switching back to English. “Michael had been assisting your grandmother before she passed away. He is a doctor, a _surgeon-”_

“Nice to meet you,” Sooyoung responds very uninterestedly in fluent Korean.

“Likewise.” Michael returns. “Well I’d better go back to sit with my family. But again, I’m so sorry.”

The chiseled Korean surgeon walks away, and her mother turns to her the second he is out of earshot.

“Michael is a good man,” her mother hums again. “Makes good money, lives all alone,” the woman continues casually. 

Sooyoung just stares forward, not caring and wishing her mother would just get out of her face. And without another word, she sits through the funeral service, missing her real family more than anything in the world.

***

The pain of familial exile for Sooyoung now is not one of direct whiplashes to the skin like it once was before, but a steady, slow-moving cancer that kills her life force with every passing hour. 

Although her world still turns thousands of miles away, Sooyoung feels as though she has been unwillingly forced back in time, and in the process losing her sense of self that took so long to construct.

Sooyoung sits at a long reception table next to her mother, and the CEO finds herself mute once again. Utensils clink against fine china as her family chats away in their hushed tones, still yet to make conversation with the lesbian billionaire in their presence. 

“No one wants her puppy, either. It’s sitting right over there,” an aunt says annoyedly in Korean, pointing to the deceased grandmother’s pet. The curly orange-haired labradoodle pup sits sadly in the corner of the room, laying on its stomach with glassy sad eyes - a newborn without a nurturing family and home. Even for Sooyoung’s cold dead heart, she feels it pang at the sight. 

“The woman got it two days before dying. But of course, no one wants it. Do you know how much they cost you? We might just send it to the pound,” the aunt drolls on and on, while Sooyoung zones out until-

“So what about you, Sooyoung?” One of her more relaxed uncles sitting across from her asks. “Still running your business?” 

All Sooyoung can think of is how “running your business” is the worst mispronunciation she’s ever heard of “leading the most successful fashion empire in the entire world.” 

The people around her turn their heads, waiting for her to speak. Sooyoung takes a large gulp from her cup of water. She doesn’t really know what she could say in this moment that could please them (the answer is, well, nothing). 

“I’ve... Actually been trying to stay home more, to be with my daughter and-” 

She’s cut off by another aunt sitting next to her mother. “A daughter? How do you have a daughter? Aren’t you…” Her eyebrows raise, trying not to say the word. The atmosphere of the funeral home gets even more uncomfortable than it was before. 

Her mother’s head is down, as if two women having a child is the most shameful thing she has ever heard. _Like she didn’t try to get into contact with our daughter a literal month ago._

“You know,” Sooyoung says right before chugging the rest of her water hastily. “I am out of water. I think I’m going to get more.” 

Sooyoung gets up, and makes her way over to the refreshment table, which is oddly placed right next to the urn of her grandmother’s ashes. It had been bothering her that she was put so closely to the food, and apparently she was the only one who thought this way.

 _“You’re making a bigger deal of it than it is.”_ Her mother had stated when she had made a remark about it when they walked in, followed by another comment so far out of left field. _“You have no right to judge when your lifestyle is as disgusting as it is.”_

She was starting to fill up her cup with water from a pitcher as slowly as possible when Michael approaches her from the side.

“Need any help?” Michael asks, holding his own empty cup in his hands. 

“...No? It’s just water.” She says, glancing back at Michael like he was insane.

“Oh, I just thought, because you were pouring so cautiously.” He says, clearly trying to be charming.

Sooyoung doesn’t know what to say. “I like to avoid making a mess.” 

“Oh,” Michael says with a smile. “I find that very attractive in women.” He states, causing Sooyoung’s face to contort.

“...Thank you for sharing?” 

There is a bout of long silence between them while Sooyoung finishes pouring her water.

“Say, would you like to, perhaps, go out sometime?” 

“Why would I ever want to do that.” Sooyoung rejects bluntly.

Michael is suddenly fuming, his ego clearly bruised. “You know, there’s no reason to be a bitch. Your mother said you were single and-”

Sooyoung slams the pitcher onto the table, causing the entire room to turn to look at them. 

_Single?_

Michael jumps back, taken aback by the woman’s aggressiveness.

“No Michael, actually, I’m _not!”_ Sooyoung says, a little too loudly, to only be heard by the man in front of her. “My mother said I was single because she thinks that somehow, a man of your excellent stature, will break me away from my wife.” She emphasizes the word.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know!” Michael exclaims, clearly embarrassed. 

“Of course you didn’t! You’ve been taking care of an old Korean woman for the past million years!” Sooyoung says, her voice getting louder with every word. “Because if you went outside for a second, you would know that I’m actually a lesbian and that me and my wife are the richest couple on the face of this Earth!”

Sooyoung is chuckling at her accomplishment as she takes a sip from an empty cup. She then proceeds to slam it down on the table, causing the plastic to bend in the process.

“You would think that being married and having a child would stop my mom from trying to get me to change, but clearly, _clearly_ that is just not the case! She would rather my child watch her parents divorce than for her to have two happy mothers.”

“You are far from happy.” Sooyoung’s mother addresses her daughter from the front of the room.

The entire family is watching them now.

“How can you possibly be happy knowing you are keeping a child from her family?”

Sooyoung scoffs. “She already has a family. And it is definitely not you.” 

Sooyoung’s mother grinds her teeth, as one of her aunts decides to speak up. “Not allowing her to meet us just proves all of our assumptions that you are, in fact, a terrible mother to your child. So God forbid your mother thought a man could help straighten you out.”

Sooyoung’s fists clench at the unintentional double entendre as she turns to her relative. “You have absolutely no right to call me out, when the only thing you mother is that unibrow on your face. I will literally pay for you to get a waxing.” 

Some of the kids in the room stifle a laugh as Sooyoung’s aunt self consciously covers her face. 

“I’m so sick of _all_ of you!” Sooyoung says, suddenly regaining her confidence. “You all think that you have some _right_ to judge me just because I’m married to a woman. A BEAUTIFUL, SEXY, GORGEOUS-”

Sooyoung keeps going, even though her family looks like they’re about to vomit.

“YEAH THAT’S RIGHT! AN AMAZING, _PHENOMENAL_ WOMAN _._ HER ASS ALONE COULD CURE CANCER. And you know what! Not even that, but before too! You were horrible people back when I was a kid, and you are all still horrible people now. _Constantly_ treating me like I was beneath you and-”

Sooyoung stops in her tracks.

 _“Why are you treating her like she’s beneath you?”_ Jiwoo’s words ring through her mind.

Sooyoung’s demeanor falters immediately, she had not only been treating her daughter poorly. 

But she had been treating her daughter the same way her family had treated her.

“You know what.” Sooyoung says, regaining her thought process. “I’m leaving. But first,” 

She walks over to the corner where the puppy begins to wag its tail excitedly. She picks it up.

“You are not sending another thing to be poorly taken care of you _fucking_ leeches.” 

Sooyoung walks past all of her shocked relatives, going past the food table again when-

_Dink._

The dog’s excited little tail involuntarily hits the jar filled with Sooyoung’s grandmother onto the refreshment table, exploding all over the food, particle by particle.

Sooyoung stands, eyes wide and stunned for a moment. Her family gasps loudly, but Sooyoung regains her composure. 

“I TOLD YOU ALL THAT WAS A STUPID PLACE TO PUT HER! BLAME YOURSELVES!” She yells exasperatedly, and she struts out of the room.

 _“YOU WILL PAY FOR THE DAMAGES SOOYOUNG!”_ Her mother yells after her, but Sooyoung is already halfway down the hallway leading to the door.

“TAKE IT OUT OF THE NEXT CHECK I SEND YOU THEN!” Sooyoung screams back, before letting the door slam shut behind her and walking right into the blizzard outside.

***

When Sooyoung finally opens the front door to her mansion in Southern California, the clock strikes 11pm. 

Carrying the tiny, curly orange-haired labradoodle pup in one arm and her million-dollar purse in the other, the CEO rattles the keys as she places them in their diamond-encrusted bowl.

“Sooyoung, I know Popeye’s is your comfort food but it makes you gassy and-” 

From one of the plush white couches in the darkness, Jiwoo cheers giddily at the surprise in her wife’s arms. Sooyoung leans down to gently place the animal on the floor, and watches it scurry towards the other woman on the couch. 

“That’s not fried chicken?!” 

“No honey, this is a puppy,” Sooyoung hums, a bit regretfully. All the dog did was lick her face too much and shit all over the private jet.

“EEEEEEEE! A puppy!” Jiwoo squeals as the pup jumps into her warm arms and begins lapping at her face and neck. “I love you so much, what’s your name?” she coos as if talking to a baby, voice a little raspy signaling that she just woke up. “Honey, what’s his name?”

“Dog,” Sooyoung says, taking steps to sit next to her sweetheart on the couch.

“You named our dog Dog?” Jiwoo says, seemingly insulted as her wife lifts her thick fluffy blanket to slide in next to her. 

“What’s wrong with Dog.” Sooyoung says plainly. 

“How about you give it a real name weirdo?” 

The CEO stares at the little puppy, snuggling itself in Jiwoo’s chest with bright eyes and a wagging tail despite the long day. All Sooyoung can think about is how the dog stared at her in the funeral home with no one left to love it, and how now it gets to be nurtured by love herself.

“I’ll have to think about it.” Sooyoung sighs wistfully. “What are you doing down here sweetheart? It’s late…” The taller woman brushes some hair behind Jiwoo’s ear, then rests her arm on the cushion behind Jiwoo’s head.

“I was waiting for you to come home,” Jiwoo pets the puppy soothingly. “I felt bad about letting you go without being there to see you off… And I wanted to call earlier, but I was scared your family would see your phone and give you trouble. So I just didn’t.”

“It wouldn’t have made a difference,” Sooyoung breathes, letting her head fall back on the top of the cushion to look up at the ceiling. “Nothing’s changed,” she finishes with bitterness in her voice. 

Jiwoo bites her lip in the silence, unsure of whether or not to prod.

“But I… May have made a scene.”

Jiwoo’s eyes flicker in surprise. “What?”

“My mother tried to set me up with a man- oh God, I need some wine-” Sooyoung cringes hard. 

 _“SHE WHAT?!”_ Jiwoo flares, suddenly very animated and enraged in disbelief as her wife walks toward the kitchen to pour herself a glass.

“I know,” Sooyoung calls over the sound of her wine pouring. “So I started yelling… At pretty much everyone, it’s a long story.” The slender businesswoman takes a sip as she looks into the dark hallways of her mansion, then turns back around to Jiwoo in the soft light of the living room. “And now we have a dog!” 

The dog (Dog, for now) is now trotting around the living room, then bolting towards Sooyoung at the entrance of the kitchen and jumping up to be held. She looks down at the puppy in disinterest, but at the sight of it’s big black eyes begging to be picked up and loved, she obliges and takes him into her arms once again.

Jiwoo softens at the heart-swelling sight of her wife snuggling a pup in her arms. “What did they say to you?” she asks gently.

“Many things,” Sooyoung reaches over with one hand and takes another long sip of her wine. “Mostly just things like being gay makes me unfit to be a mother.” 

Jiwoo opens her mouth to say something, but-

“But it’s okay.” Sooyoung finishes the wine in her glass with closed eyes, then walks back over to sit down next to her wife and look at her lovingly. 

“...It just makes me appreciate what I have at home more,” Sooyoung adds softly, barely audible. 

Jiwoo almost melts away. With a full heart she scoots closer to Sooyoung and rests her head on her chest. “Welcome home,” she whispers. The puppy is now resting peacefully in the CEO’s lap.

Sooyoung plays with Jiwoo’s hair gently, calmed by the warmth of her body against her own. “Maybe they’re right though.”

“About...?”

“I…” Sooyoung hesitates. It’s never been easy for her to admit she’s not the best at something. “I could be a better mother,” she says, replaying her conflict with Hyejoo at the mall the other day as she massages Jiwoo’s scalp under her perfect hair.

“Sooyoung,” Jiwoo says softly. “You aren’t unfit to be a mother,” her words vibrating against her wife’s chest. “You just need to try to be a better one.” 

Sooyoung sighs heavily and Jiwoo sits up. 

“But I don’t think anything could help you from being gay. I think you’re stuck with that one.” She says, her nose crinkling in amusement.

“Oh my family definitely knows that now.” Sooyoung says, a smile creeping onto her face. “When I was yelling, I kept mentioning how no one could ever get me away from my wonderful and incredibly sexy wife.” Sooyoung watches as Jiwoo’s expression turning from playfulness to lust in a matter of seconds.

“I’m going to put away the dishes.” Jiwoo stands seductively. “And then I’m going to go our playroom… If you would like to join me.” 

Sooyoung smirks at the woman in front of her. 

“There’s nothing I would like more.”

***

Before she can meet Jiwoo in the other wing of the Ha mansion, Sooyoung peers into her daughter’s bedroom a quarter to midnight.

She sees the girl snug in her covers and facing away. Judging by Hyejoo’s slow, even breathing, the eighth grader is soundly asleep.

Aside from the light spilling in from the slightly opened door and the neon lights from the inside of her homemade PC, the bedroom is pitch black.

And instead of walking away, like usual, Sooyoung takes a step inside.

The executive doesn’t even dare to turn on the lights, or cross over to the side where Hyejoo is facing. She stops just a few feet away from her daughter’s back, and ever so quietly takes a seat on the black ottoman beside the bed. Sooyoung rests her elbows on the mattress of her sleeping child. 

Not knowing what to do, she begins to massage her own head in her hands out of stress.

There is a long, paper thin blanket of silence in the middle schooler’s bedroom after Jiwoo finishes putting away the pots downstairs. Sooyoung looks down at the hardwood floor, and bites her lip.

“Um,” she breathes very quietly. “I’ve been very mean to you.” Saying the words for Sooyoung are like lifting massive jagged rocks, despite her singular audience member being virtually equivalent to a brick wall. 

Speaking of walls, Hyejoo stares at hers in the darkness, wide awake.

“And… I-” Sooyoung stops, and Hyejoo starts to think that’s probably all she’s going to get. “And you don’t deserve that.” 

Hyejoo doesn’t know if she’s awake anymore, or if this is just another sick dream.

“I know I don’t exactly… Show it. But…” Sooyoung bites her lip again at the bedside because _Jesus, this is hard,_ and why is she fighting the urge to choke up? The feeling in her realm of parenting is foreign entirely. But regardless of how laborious this entire act feels, she forces herself to continue. 

“You are so important to me.”

Hyejoo softens at the awkward, passionate conviction in her mother’s words, and the child pulls the covers closer to her chest clandestinely.

“And I know you’re asleep. I’m… I am sorry I don’t have the courage to say this to your face.” 

Sooyoung sighs softly.

“I guess I’m just bad at this.” _That’s an understatement,_ Hyejoo and Sooyoung both think to themselves at the same time; like mother, like daughter. A long pause follows.

And then, Sooyoung admits something that makes Hyejoo see her abrasive, rude, catastrophic mother in a new light. 

“...I wish I wasn’t.”

“Goodnight, Hyejoo.” Sooyoung whispers even quieter than her previous words, and the CEO stands up to leave. Just then, hears her wife’s light footsteps approaching in the hallway. 

 _“Pssst!”_ Jiwoo whispers loudly, after peeking in the door to see Sooyoung walking out of their daughter’s bedroom and meeting her eyes. “Don’t you want your early Christmas present,” she whispers loudly with a flirtatious wink. “In bed,” she adds with yet another dramatic wink. 

Hyejoo gags silently and can’t help but slowly move her pillow over her exposed ear. 

 _“Shit,_ she’s waking up,” Sooyoung whispers, and leaves quickly, taking Jiwoo’s hand and then gently shutting her daughter’s door.

Minutes after the door shuts, Hyejoo is still staring out, unable to process what just happened. The air feels different, the atmosphere anew.

The eighth grader doesn’t really know what’s going on anymore.

***

“So what should I get Hyejoo then?” Sooyoung calls from the sunroom the next morning.

The sun had just begun sitting high in the sky for the day, and the billionaire sits in the octagonal room with a bowl of Greek yogurt and a disgusting (but healthy) green shot of wheatgrass, aloe, and turmeric. She presses her cheek on her soft palm as she watches Jiwoo meet her eyes from the kitchen.

“What do you mean?” the other billionaire chimes as she walks into the sunroom with a cup of coffee to join her wife. “You always get her the same things for Christmas, nice clothes and shoes. Stuff she needs? Isn’t that what you like giving?”

The taller woman takes another sip of her shot with a shake of her head. “No…” She narrows her eyes; something just isn’t sitting right about that. For some reason, it’s different this year. “Maybe I should get her something she… wants?”

Jiwoo looks at Sooyoung like she just began speaking in tongues, utterly perplexed. Suddenly, the bubbly celebrity grabs her wife’s face in her hands, squinting and examining her making the CEO just as confused.

“WHERE IS THE MILK!?!” Jiwoo screams.

“Jiwoo, _what?!”_ Her wife asks with squished cheeks.

_“WHERE IS THE MILK LOCATED!?”_

“THE FRIDGE?!?” Sooyoung takes a wild guess. _(...Where else would it be?)_

“Okay good,” Jiwoo releases her wife’s face with a sigh of relief. “I thought you were possessed or something… That was so odd of you to say.” She takes a seat in the chair right next to her wife, bare legs brushing up against hers comfortably.

Sooyoung furrows her eyebrows a little. “That I want to get our daughter something she doesn’t need?”

Jiwoo raises her own as she mumbles into her coffee. “That you’re interested in what she wants,” she meets her wife’s warm eyes, pools of dark orange in the sunlight. In them, Jiwoo sees hesitation. So she takes Sooyoung’s hand into hers lovingly. “But I’m glad you are.” 

“Well I don’t… Really know… What she likes,” Sooyoung admits with an embarrassed cringe as she spoons another dollop of yogurt into her mouth. She really isn’t winning parent of the year. Or of any time period for that matter.

“Hmm… Well we can search her room for ideas!” Jiwoo smiles innocently, making Sooyoung look to her in alarm.

“Like, sneak into her room and look at her belongings? Isn’t that an invasion of privacy?” 

“Pssh, no! We’re her mothers, we can do whatever we want!” Jiwoo reassures brightly. 

“That doesn’t sound-”

Just then, a startled shriek comes from the top of the grand foyer. Seconds later, a disheveled Hyejoo is storming down them in her Star Wars pajamas. 

“Why was _this_ sitting on my chest?!” The eighth grader demands an answer as she holds the dog, arms extended to hold him farthest away from her body like the animal has fleas.

“WHY ARE YOU HOLDING HIM LIKE THAT?!” Jiwoo cries, meeting her daughter halfway and taking the puppy into her arms to cradle him like a newborn infant.

“So no one’s gonna tell me why we suddenly have a _dog?!”_ Hyejoo looks to her mom, then her other mother for a response. 

“Your mother stole him! Isn’t he cute,” Jiwoo coos at the dog with a wide smile.

“She _what?”_ Hyejoo shrieks, looking at Sooyoung who is nonchalantly downing the rest of her shot. “From _who?!”_

“It’s a long story.” Sooyoung says simply. She then looks at Hyejoo expectantly as the child is still staring at her. “...Do you need me to take you to school or something?” Sooyoung asks sharply.

Her daughter stands in silence for a few seconds looking between the dog and her other mother who is scratching its belly lovingly. She shakes her head, exasperated, and then looks back up.

“Um. No. Chaewon wanted to carpool this morning so her mom is picking me up...” Hyejoo trails off quietly, a bit flustered.

“Chaewon?” Jiwoo asks, a coy smile forming on her face. “Is there a reason you’re suddenly carpooling with her a lot more often?”

 _“NO!”_ Hyejoo asserts, cheeks turning bright red. _“We just like talking in the car!”_

“Well you’d better get dressed because I’m sure she will be by soon.” Sooyoung says while finishing her portion of yogurt.

Hyejoo scurries up the stairs, and Jiwoo returns to her wife’s side after letting their puppy run off and follow the child.

“WE HAVE TO SNEAK INTO HER ROOM.” Jiwoo whispers loudly across the table. 

***

Jiwoo does a somersault, backflip, then three cartwheels, down the hallway, standing up right in front of Hyejoo’s door.

“What are you doing?” Sooyoung says, walking up to her.

“We have to be stealthy.” Jiwoo says. She’s wearing all black and has a ski mask on.

“Honey, she’s not even here.” Sooyoung says, and with a quick motion, just walks directly into Hyejoo’s room.

“You’re ruining the fun.” Jiwoo pouts, pulling off her mask, only to get a quick kiss from Sooyoung in response. She slaps her wife playfully with the fabric.

Sooyoung and Jiwoo finally look around their child’s room. 

The space is dark, thanks to a special curtain the girl had asked her parents to get her. (The sun was too bright and reflected poorly on her monitor apparently) However, along the walls were various purple neon lights that illuminated the room to give it a retro feel. On those same walls were overcrowded shelves filled with various video game cases. 

“Wow she is really into video game stuff. There are so many games… She’s kind of running out of room.” Sooyoung says, looking over and entirety of the shelves, some already toppled onto the floor.

“Mhm yeah, that’s what she spends most of her allowance on.” Jiwoo says, clearly not paying attention to what Sooyoung was doing and was on an investigation of her own. 

A massive computer sits in the corner of her room accompanied by a cushioned leather rolling chair. The screen is bigger than the television in her room by miles and the keyboard shines the same purple aesthetic as the lights around her.

“This computer is huge. Did I pay for this?” Sooyoung asks her wife, who is literally on the ground looking under Hyejoo’s bed.

“Hmm?” She looks up for a second and then back under the bed. “Oh no, I mean you paid for some of the parts, but she actually built that.” Jiwoo says, basically crawling under the bed now.

“She made this whole thing?” Sooyoung says, silently extremely impressed. She gets closer to examine the details. The keyboard glows in a variety of colors, the monitor bigger than most flat screens. Everything is sleek and perfectly precise, not one thing making it look like a less than professional computer.

“She could probably sell this to NASA if she wanted to honey this is so high tech-” Sooyoung looked back at her wife only to find that she was not there. “Jiwoo?”

“AHA!” Jiwoo’s voice comes from under the bed. She slowly but steadily crawls out from under it, holding a notebook in her hand. It was bright pastel pink, nothing on the cover. Very plain and elegant, as if her daughter had made sure it never touched a speck of dirt. 

“What is that?” Sooyoung asks walking over to her wife.

“THE ANSWER TO ALL MY THEORIES.” She says shaking it slightly. ‘Hyejoo doesn’t like pink. But you know who does? _Chaewon!”_ Jiwoo declares proudly.

Sooyoung suddenly remembers her wife’s correction in the CVS. “The chihuahua child? The shakey one?” Sooyoung says as Jiwoo nods her head.

“YES. Why do you think her photos with Hyejoo are all over the fridge? I _know_ Hyejoo likes her. But she won’t tell me that she likes her. Which is ridiculous because I literally want them to grow old together. So I have to confirm the theory myself!” Jiwoo says, immediately opening the notebook.

“Sweetie pie reading that might be a little much-”

“So you can yell at our child but looking through their private lovesick diary is where you draw the line?!” Jiwoo says, raising an eyebrow.

“Um… Yes?” Sooyoung says, but ignoring her, Jiwoo opens to the first page of their daughter’s handwriting anyway.

 

_“From where I dwell in darkness_

_Who am I to ask for the sun?_

 

_You are my best friend_

_But I will always want more._

 

_It’s a shame that I could never let you know.”_

 

“YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!” Jiwoo screams, startling Sooyoung. 

“What? That was so vague. We have no idea if that was even about Chaewon.” Sooyoung states, but she will admit… Someone did have her normally emotionless daughter lovesick. It was sort of sweet.

“NO LISTEN HERE HONEY. I’VE CONNECTED THE DOTS.” Jiwoo says as she moves her index fingers together. “Hyejoo told me that she messed up something with a girl a few months ago right? WELL, my little gorgeously amazing birdy, Jungeun it was Jungeun, told me that they were CANOODLING in the backseat of her car. Also ‘MY BEST FRIEND’??? WHO ELSE IS HER BEST FRIEND? YEOJIN? NO. WHO IS SHE CARPOOLING WITH EVERY DAY??? That’s right... Chaewon. Bam!” Jiwoo says, mic dropping the notebook onto the floor.

Sooyoung sat in awe. “Jiwoo… That actually makes complete sense….” Sooyoung says suddenly very aroused. She moves closer to her wife, her eyes hooded. 

“Should we go to our room…” Sooyoung begins kissing Jiwoo’s neck and Jiwoo tilts her head slightly, allowing her more freedom.

It takes everything Jiwoo has to put her hands on her wife’s shoulders. 

“I should put this back first!” Jiwoo picks up the pink notebook. “Our daughter is very closed off, and if she finds this anywhere out of place she will lose it and I love her but I always taught her to light the house on fire if she was ever in a predicament.” Jiwoo says.

“You what?” Sooyoung asks, suddenly changing mood.

“But…” Jiwoo starts, looking Sooyoung up and down and biting her lip. “You should definitely go get the straps ready while I put it in the right place.” 

Sooyoung let’s the sexually charged comment fill her stomach. She stands immediately and walks out of the room until she is out of sight, then giddily runs down the hallway like a hormonal teen girl.

Sooyoung loves her wife.

***

“WHAT DOES THAT EVEN _MEAN!”_

Jinsol comes downstairs peacefully after hearing her daughter scream in frustration for the third time in a row since she got home from school.

“Choerry? What’s the problem?” Jinsol asks, looking at her very confused daughter focusing extremely hard on an iPad in front of her. She was covered in flour, utensils completely scattered across the once completely clean kitchen.

“I’M TRYING TO MAKE CUPCAKES FOR THE BAKE SALE BUT I CAN’T FIGURE THIS OUT!” Choerry says, glaring at the screen very exasperatedly. “IT SAYS USE THE BAKING POWDER BUT WHICH ONE? THERE ARE SO MANY POWDERS…” 

“....And you called me a fire hazard when I wanted to make dinner for the first time?” Jinsol walks over to her daughter and pries the iPad out of her hands, looking at the directions herself. “Let me.” 

To be honest with you, Jinsol doesn’t know what any of the instructions mean. (She is many things - a scientist, a businesswoman, but _not_ a baker.)

...But now is the perfect opportunity to make this a fun experience rather than a stressful one. 

“Ok first… We need music.” Jinsol says, as she walked over to the side of the fridge where a small round device sat.

“Alexa, play Jinsol’s Christmas playlist on the kitchen speakers.” Jinsol says.

**_“Playing Jinsol’s Christmas playlist on Spotify.”_ **

Choerry squeals with excitement, as she begins to sing over the Mariah Carey track and immediately more at ease with her mother’s company.

It doesn’t take Jinsol long to begin singing with her.

***

Jungeun, fresh from work, opens the front door of her family’s home to her wife and daughter screaming to Christmas music together. She might’ve joined in the deafening performance if the kitchen didn’t look like a cocaine dealer’s truck had just crashed into it.

“What is going on…?” Jungeun breathes from the threshold of her messy kitchen, the sight already making her cortisol levels rise. 

Jinsol stops from her singing, but Choerry doesn’t seem to notice Jungeun’s interruption (or just doesn’t care) and continues screaming while dancing in circles around the kitchen island.

“Umm,” Jinsol says, a bit awkwardly for her age. She comes closer in her messy lounging clothes to place a sweet kiss on her wife’s cheek. “Hi honey.” 

Jungeun’s voice lowers. “Why does our kitchen look like Antarctica?” And she was right, flour was dusting almost every already white surface, used supplies coated in sugary substance were strewn haphazardly on their counters.

The CEO looks behind her to take the sight in as if for the first time, her blonde ponytail swishing behind her. “Oh.”

“ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS! Is yOUUUUUUUUUuu BAAABY! AAAHHHHAAAHHHH!” Choerry runs around the kitchen clutching a wooden spoon, finishing off Mariah’s vocal arrangement as the music begins to fade out. She stops in front of her parents. “Oh-” Choerry says, noticing the distressed look on her shorter mother’s face. “Well um, I was trying to make cookies for the bake sale after school, and then some more for poor people, but then she came downstairs to help me but then we just started screaming and. Yes!” 

Jungeun looks around. There are no cookies anywhere. She squints at the two girls in front of her. “Neither of you know what you’re doing, do you.”

“Of course we do,” Jinsol replies confidently, starkly contrasting with Choerry saying “No” at the exact same time.

Jungeun takes a deep sigh. “Okay, just let me do this-”

“NO, NO-” Jinsol and Choerry both stop her at the same time, Jinsol putting her hands on her wife’s arms as if to restrain her. “Baby please don’t worry about it, we’ll take care of it okay?” Jinsol says quietly. “I got thi-”

“HERE Mommy, you can just tell me what to do and I’ll do it,” Choerry says, screeching an elegant white high chair across the floor for Jungeun to sit in and actively participate.

Jungeun hesitantly puts her belongings beside the chair and climbs into the seat of the kitchen island. Jinsol takes the one next to her, then leans her head on her hands as she faces Jungeun.

Jungeun catches Jinsol looking at her, and she smiles back at her with a fluttering heart. 

“I missed you,” Jinsol whispers with infinite tenderness in her eyes.

A bashful smile lights up Jungeun’s face. “No you didn’t,” she teases lightheartedly.

“I always do.” The CEO chuckles quietly and closes her eyes, leaning forward to kiss her wife who is leaning in too. But before she can-

Choerry inserts her face into their bubble. “Hey,” the child says with a cheeky, gleeful innocent grin. “Can we bake some cookies now?” 

Her mothers pull away, moment ruined, and Jungeun clears her throat. “Alright,” Choerry awaits directions like a bird itching to fly. “Get the mixer.”

Choerry scrambles behind the kitchen island on a stool to open one of the kitchen cabinets, and pulls out a blender.

 _“No_ Choerry, the mixer! That is a blender!” Jungeun corrects.

“...Um…” Choerry says nervously, then points to the toaster, suddenly losing her ability to distinguish household appliances due to the sudden nervousness triggered by being unpreparedly put on the spot.

“Yerim, does that look like a mixer to you?”

“Hey, hey,” Jinsol gets out of her seat and stands behind Jungeun’s chair, wrapping her arms around her wife to ease her agitation. “Just explain it to her sweetie, don’t yell it makes her nervous,” the blonde says gently in her wife’s ear. 

“I’m not yelling-”

“Shhh,” Jinsol silences, kissing Jungeun’s cheek. “Be nice,” she whispers.

Jungeun looks back at Choerry with a sigh, who is still not able to find the mixer. “Choerry, the mixer is the red one at the back.” The eighth grader, relieved, carefully pulls it out and sets it on the countertop. “Yes, perfect. Okay. Now get ¾ a cup of the sugar. The sugar is the one that tastes sweet.”

“I know what sugar is mommy I’m not that dumb,” Choerry responds a bit sassily over the Christmas music as she scampers around for a measuring cup.

“Okay I was just saying, because you seem to have gotten everything else all over the kitchen.” Jungeun counters irritably, but Jinsol plants kisses on her neck, easing her back to calmness.  

For the next few hours or so, the three of them follow this cycle - Jungeun giving instructions, Choerry following in front of her, and Jinsol alternating between helping Choerry and calming her wife whenever she got a little too tightly wound with their child.

When Jinsol finally pulls the last of the cookies out of the oven so their daughter doesn’t burn herself, Choerry cheers excitedly and even Jungeun herself is impressed at the appetizing array of cookies and their uniformity. 

“Thank you mommy,” Choerry runs over sheepishly to envelop Jungeun in a tight, loving hug. “We couldn’t have done this without you,” she adds, practically smothering herself into her seated mother’s side. Jungeun’s heart melts as she pulls her daughter closer with a smile.

 _“We did it!”_ Choerry screeches, running into Jinsol’s arms behind the kitchen counter, as if years and years of being disconnected ceased to exist. Jinsol, heart full with a feeling she had almost forgotten, fights the tears prickling at her eyes as she hugs her laughing daughter.

“It was all you,” Jinsol reassures as she takes in the small girl’s warmth. She wouldn’t want to be on a team with anyone else. And as Jungeun watches their daughter hug Jinsol, old Christmas music playing softly in the background, it makes her heart feel as though it was sparkling. It may have been a messy night, but her family was better than anything she could ever ask for.

“Okay, it’s late you two.” Jungeun says. “Now go get ready for bed. You’ll have to frost these tomorrow when they cool.”  

“Okay.” Choerry says, running away from the mess she’s made to go to her room.

Jinsol looks at Jungeun slightly confused. “We didn’t even make frosting.”

Jungeun sighs. “I know. I’m going to make it.” She says putting her hair up and walking to the counter to pull out a small amount of ingredients. Jinsol pads over and grabs her wrist gently. 

“Nooo, you’re not lifting a finger. I’ll do it.” She says bumping Jungeun softly out of the way. “I watched you give Choerry directions. I think I have the hang of all baked goods now.”

Jungeun surrenders, mainly because she kind of wanted to see what Jinsol was going to do. 

Slowly but surely, Jinsol measures and adds the correct amount of ingredients needed to make the frosting. Jungeun is watching with her chin rested on Jinsol’s shoulder, making sure to be there in case anything goes wrong.

And soon enough...

“Voila!” Jinsol says as she finished mixing the green frosting in the bowl. 

“I’m very impressed.” Jungeun says, smiling while nuzzling her face into Jinsol’s neck.

“Taste it just to be sure.” Jinsol put some frosting on a spoon and held it up for Jungeun.

Before Jungeun could get to the spoon however, Jinsol moves it towards her own mouth, slapping a little bit of the frosting onto her lips.

“You’re ridiculous.” Jungeun says, but she was blushing, giggling as she moved forward to kiss the frosting off of her wife.

“Was it good?” Jinsol asks as Jungeun pulls away. Her wife rolls her eyes, but could not deny the everlasting butterflies in her stomach.

“Amazing.” She says, “Now clean this up?” 

Jinsol looks around the messy kitchen and then back at her wife, who was still dressed in her business clothes.

“Of course.” Jinsol said. “You go get ready for bed now okay.” 

Jungeun kisses her once more. “Okay.” She says as she slowly detaches herself from Jinsol and makes her way up the stairs.

It takes Jinsol a while to pick up the mess in the kitchen, but she doesn’t mind. Because she knows that her wife is getting the rest she deserves, and that’s all the motivation Jinsol needs.

***

Choerry walks down the stairs the next morning and sees Jinsol already sitting at the counter, coffee in hand.

“Good morning,” Jinsol says to her daughter as she sits down across from her. “There’s some eggs and bacon on the stove if you want!” 

“Mmmm.” Choerry rubs her eyes as she slides off the chair and grabs a plate. When she sits back down she munches for a while, she watches her mom start to prepare the frosting in a bag to decorate the cupcakes.

“I’ll get started while you eat, and then you can join me when you’re done.” The CEO says as she starts putting frosting on cupcakes. 

Choerry eventually puts her plate in the sink, and walks over to help her mom. But first…

“Alexa play Jinsol’s Christmas playlist.” Choerry says and Jinsol looks up and smiles.

**Playing Jinsol’s Christmas playlist on Spotify.**

A fun upbeat Christmas song begins playing quietly and both girls ice cupcakes, humming along to the songs as they go.

Choerry helps Jinsol and vice versa as they both attempt to make various patterns on their cupcakes. They’re both very bad, but neither one of them care - they’re just enjoying each other’s company.

Choerry stops suddenly in the middle of frosting a cupcake and looks up at her mother.

“Hey mom? Can I ask you a question?” 

Jinsol’s eyebrows raise as she looks back at her daughter. “What’s up?” 

Choerry hesitates and looks down, fiddling with her hands a little bit.

Jinsol tilts her head. “Go ahead baby what is it?”

Choerry sighs slightly and looks back up. “Um,” Confrontation is hard, especially for the student body president. “Why… Have you been taking me...to school lately and doing all this breakfast stuff? Not that I don’t like it but. Like why?” 

It was Jinsol’s turn to hesitate. She couldn’t exactly say she had finally opened her stupid eyes to see how badly she was neglecting her family and that it took her wife being extremely upset with her to realize it to her own daughter.

“Choerry, I... I just saw that I wasn’t helping around as much as I could.”

Choerry looks up at her with empathetic eyes.

“...And Mommy… wasn’t feeling… Very well.” Jinsol finishes awkwardly, but quickly understands her poor choice of words when she sees Choerry starting to panic.

“What was wrong with her? Was she sick? _Is_ she sick?” Choerry asks quickly, starting to pull her arms closer to her body.

Jinsol reaches out calmly. “No! No nothing like that sweetie, I’m sorry, that was bad wording.”

“Oh... What do you mean then?” Choerry asks, steadying her breathing from her rise of panic.

“I just mean…” Jinsol bites her lip. “She was getting overwhelmed with having to go to work every night, coming home late, then having to waking up early. She did a lot of things by herself. For a long time.”

Choerry nods understandingly; she’s noticed too.

“I didn’t want her to have to do them by herself anymore. I should’ve never let her do things by herself.” Jinsol says nobly. “So I took time off so Mommy wouldn’t be overwhelmed anymore.” 

Choerry slowly nods more and more, understanding the weight of it all. Although she stares with a pensive expression, it truly makes her _happy_ , hearing the reasons as to why Jinsol is suddenly very active after so many years of barely interacting with her. 

“Aren’t you busy though…? You… Did this all so Mommy could rest?” Choerry asks incredulously.

“She deserves it, don’t you think?” Jinsol responds without a doubt in her mind, looking at their daughter with a loving smile.

It absolutely warms Choerry's heart. Her mother loves her wife so much that she would drop anything to help her feel better. Choerry always had admired their love, but even more so today.  

“Plus, I get to hangout with you again.” Jinsol briefly addresses the touchy subject of their once close friendship, then sends another apologetic yet loving smile to her daughter as she squeezes the piping bag in her hands.

Choerry can’t help but get a little nostalgic as she turns around to wash her hands at the sink, hiding teary eyes.

“Yeah.”

***

It’s Sunday December 22nd, the day of the annual St. Jihyo’s Candy Cane Lane bake sale, and Ms. Vivi Wong is driving her red hot convertible through Hollywood. Her phone continues to supply directions to Haseul’s house as her hair blows through the morning air.

Vivi’s daughter Chaewon sits in the passenger seat with a giant black Balenciaga hoodie (that Vivi has no idea how she acquired being that the sweater must have been at least $700), big black sunglasses, tousled hair, and an upset frown that Vivi catches when she looks at her at the red light. 

“Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?” 

“Mom why don’t you go fuck yourself,” the normally soft-spoken little child snaps ruthlessly, making Vivi’s eyes almost pop out of their sockets.

_“Excuse me?!”_

Chaewon doesn’t answer, still staring at the traffic in front of them with an even greater frown.

“What is the matter with you!” 

Suddenly, Chaewon’s bottom lip is quivering and then she’s bursting into sobs in the passenger seat. Vivi is even more confused. 

“What is the matter?!” Her mother repeats, bewildered.

 _“N-Nic…”_ Chaewon can’t even finish the word because she’s started wailing dramatically, making Vivi sigh deeply as she rolls the Corvette through the city. 

“What?”

 _“NICKI!”_ Chaewon screams ferally.

There is a long pause as the gears turn in Vivi’s brain. “...Minaj?!” 

“Oh my G-God don’t even say her name,” Chaewon is breaking down sobbing into her hands.

“Did… Did she… Overdose or something?” Vivi asks softly with a very concerned expression, eyes still on the road. She knows how much her daughter likes Nicki Minaj; she’d insisted to get a tattoo of the rapper’s name for weeks, then when her mother refused she stole money out of Nate’s wallet to buy a tattoo machine to do it herself. Unfortunately, her mother had caught her before that could happen.

“WORSE!” Chaewon screeches. _“SHE TWEETED THAT SHE’S RETIRING?!?!”_ The tiny eighth grader is now screaming in pain. “HOW COULD SHE LEAVE US?? AND WITH WHAT? _CARDI?!”_ Other people in traffic stare at the top-down vehicle in alarm. “I DON’T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT ANYMORE! _FUCK_ YOU ONIKA!” 

“...Didn’t that happen like… last week?” Vivi asks gently; her daughter has been crying over this same thing for days now.

“OH, SO NOW I DON’T GET TO GRIEVE?” Chaewon fires back through tears.

“...Okay…” Vivi continues to drive the car, unsure of what to say at all as they enter suburbia.

(Vivi doesn’t really _get_ Chaewon, and Chaewon doesn’t really _get_ her mother either. But Vivi never lets that stop her from trying.)  “...I’m really sorry about that sweetie.” 

Chaewon is curling into Hyejoo’s hoodie, refusing to say another word on the matter.  

“...At least you’re going to see Yeojin, and then your other friends later tonight?” Vivi offers gently.

The eighth grader huffs. “I guess,” she says weakly with teary eyes and a sniffle. The news was broken to her this morning right when she woke up, sending her into a debilitating cocoon of horror. But her mother has a point - she gets to see Hyejoo today!

And her other friends, right. Of course. 

Chaewon is thankful she’s going to Yeojin’s, too. She’s finally going to get to see where her and Principal Haseul live, and see for herself if the house is as jank her fellow rap god says. But as she looks around through the oversized sunglasses, she furrows her brows a little because that doesn’t seem to be the case.

The neighborhood they are entering has vibrant, adorable houses with perfect lawns and completely clean surroundings. Nothing about the area screams anything remotely low class - if anything, for SoCal, Chaewon can tell to live in such a nice house in a peaceful area, you’d either have to be a drug dealer or at least upper middle class.

And the GPS says they’re only two minutes away from Principal Haseul’s house. _Yeojin doesn’t live in the hood! Fake ass bitch!_

It instructs Vivi to make a left, and she does, driving her car down a straight road lined with softly multicolored houses to a cul de sac. She’s driving her car around the bend - and then, she sees it. 

“Oh my God is that Principal Haseul?” Chaewon stares.

Haseul, _oh my God that’s Haseul,_ on this lovely morning on the Lord’s day is in her front lawn wearing nothing but a dark sports bra and shorts, both of which are hugging her body in all the right places. The woman is pushing around a lawnmower as sprinklers go off around her. 

All the blood in Vivi’s body involuntarily rushes to her face, as she finds herself staring at the other woman mouth agape. Vivi never knew Haseul’s arms were so… _strong_ … and her toned arms glisten with sweat as they push the sizeable lawnmower under the bright morning sun. 

Haseul hears the familiar hum of the car and turns, and Vivi sees it in slow motion. Her straight black hair swishes as she tucks some behind her ear, and the sight instantly makes an army of butterflies flutter through Vivi’s stomach. Then, Haseul breaks out into her big lovable dorky smile. 

She shuts the lawnmower off as Vivi somehow comes back down to earth and manages to park her car alongside the curb.

“Hi Chaewon!” Haseul greets the little child first, who climbs out of the convertible with tear-stained cheeks in all black. “...Is everything okay?” she asks sympathetically.

“No,” Chaewon replies softly, and Vivi squints at her child in offense as she walks toward them because that’s a whole lot kinder than the response she got. “Nicki Minaj is retiring from the rap game.” 

 _“What!?”_ Haseul responds, appearing to be very affected by the news as well. “Oh no! For real?”

“Yeah,” Chaewon breathes out painfully. 

“Drat!” Haseul tuts and looks up to the sky in dismay. “What am I supposed to listen to now? Cardi B?” 

“THAT’S WHAT I SAID-” Chaewon is interrupted by a shot of water suddenly wetting her cheek making her wince and raise her hands.

 _“Hey.”_ Yeojin growls lowly from the threshold of the adorable sky blue home with a large water gun. She then drops another water gun on the porch for Chaewon, then flees back into the home. Chaewon runs to the front door to get her revenge.

Vivi has to exert a great deal of effort to tear her eyes away from Haseul’s shining toned arms. “Hey,” Haseul laughs softly, suddenly seeming a bit shy. “You came! That’s what she said.”

Vivi is now losing herself in Haseul’s loving, bright eyes. “Of course I did,” she smiles, and the art teacher is starting to really feel her heart race.

“I want to hug you but… I’m sweaty, haha,” Haseul says sheepishly, oblivious to the fact that Vivi sinfully wants nothing more right now than to feel her. “Welcome to da crib,” the principal says awkwardly, throwing up a peace sign. 

“Sorry I’m not MTV,” Vivi responds with a childlike smile and scrunching her nose.

“Oh that’s okay, I’d rather have you.” Haseul realizes what she just said, and looks back at Vivi trying to conceal her panic only to see the teacher is just beaming even more. “UM,” Haseul wants to swiftly change the subject. “I call it the Feminest.”

“You call your house the Feminest.” Vivi deadpans.

“Yeah, isn’t it awesome? I came up with it slicing watermelon during the 2016 election. Come on, let’s go inside.”

Haseul leads her to the entrance of her house.

“It’s not much but I think it does the job…” Haseul says somewhat nervously as they begin walking through the home. The sun shines brightly through white curtains, light wooden floors creaking slightly as they walked through. Pictures of Yeojin and Haseul during their lives’ milestones covered the walls, all of which made Vivi feel warm inside. 

“It’s a lovely house Haseul.” Vivi says, a tiny smile on her face. “These pictures are so cute.” Vivi looks at a picture of a very young Yeojin sitting on her mother’s shoulders  as Haseul struggles to fit them both in the frame. 

Haseul blushes and smiles back. “Thanks! I wish she was that small again sometimes you know?” _More like all the time,_ Haseul muses, reminiscing about a time before Yeojin knew how to blast her own rap music through her speakers at 3AM.

They move into the bright kitchen, classic wooden cupboards contrasting well with the modern kitchen appliances. A small island sits in the middle, a few stools scattered around it. On top is various baking ingredients and supplies, well organized and ready to be put to use.

“Do you want anything to drink?” Haseul asks, walking towards the fridge.

“Water is fine!” Vivi says, settling down on one of the stools. She sees Yeojin and Chaewon in the backyard through the kitchen window, giggling and blasting each other with their water guns. Vivi can’t help but feel at ease.

Haseul grabs a glass and fills it with water from the fridge. She brings it over to Vivi, who is suddenly very aware of Haseul’s exposed skin once again. Haseul doesn’t seem to notice, but instead wipes her brow.

“I’m a little Dirty by Christina Aguilera! I’m going to go take a shower and then we can start baking! I tried my best to lay everything out here for the cookies except I left the butter in the fridge so it wouldn’t melt. Make yourself comfortable! I’ll be right back!”

“Okay.” Vivi nods and Haseul makes her way out of the kitchen. Vivi looks around at the comfortable little home and takes it in. She’s not sure what it is, but something about the place just makes her feel so cozy, like the house was her own. In fact, it made her feel slightly more at home than her actual house.

Vivi shakes her head and the thoughts from her head to focus on the ingredients in front of her. Haseul said something about butter, so she decides to get a head start to ease the process before the woman comes back. She walks over to the fridge and opens it only to find…

“Do you see what I put up with?” Yeojin says, coming into the house as Chaewon follows close behind. “Mrs. Wong, I’m so sorry that my mother is insane. Why we need that much cheese? I’ll never know.”

Vivi is indeed looking a cheese filled fridge, but it only causes her to chuckle. Yeojin and Chaewon walk to the living room, only separated from the kitchen by a small wall. 

Vivi looks around the slices for butter but comes up empty handed.

“Yeojin do you have any butter?” 

Yeojin, who was setting up her gaming console, looks over at her teacher and hesitates. “Um no… I used the rest of it to… try and make a slip and slide down the hallway.”

“Wait why the hell wasn’t I invited to that?” Chaewon asks.

“It was a self care exercise. You wouldn’t understand.” Yeojin says, turning her head back to the screen.

Vivi giggles and then closes the fridge. “It sounds like it was a lot of fun Yeojin.”

“Thanks mom.”

The energy in the room shifts suddenly, Vivi and Yeojin both looking at each other awkwardly. Chaewon is trying not to laugh, even though her dark hoodie is making her face barely visible.

“Did you just call me mom?” Vivi teases.

“N-no… I was calling for... my mom! Where is she? Haha!” Yeojin says nervously.

“Your mom’s in the shower.” Vivi smirks.

“Yes! That’s right I just didn’t want to startle you haha MOM!” Yeojin screams at the top of her lungs.

The shower can be heard turning off, and Haseul sprints out, soap bubbles covering her hair and a towel wrapped around her body. Water trails behind her and she nearly takes herself out by slipping on the floors.

“WHAT?” Haseul asks, worried.

“Um. Love you!” Yeojin says giving her mom a hug.

Haseul looks at Vivi who is trying to contain her laughter, but just shrugs.

“Oh. Okay. I love you too, but couldn’t you have waited until I was dry?” Haseul asks confused.

“Nope!” Yeojin says.

Haseul removes her daughter from herself. “Okay well. I’m going to finish...this.” Haseul points at her soapy hair and then heads back to the shower. 

“I’m going to go to the store to get some butter then, will you guys be ok?” Vivi asks. Yeojin nods her head aggressively before returning swiftly to the living room.

“That was embarrassing.” Chaewon states, a smile seen under her very large hoodie.

“Shut up.” Yeojin says, sinking further and further into the couch as Vivi picks up her keys and heads out the door.

***

“Hello?”

Haseul has a towel on her head as she walks around, not seeing any sign of the art teacher in the kitchen.

“DAMN YOU SUCK!” Chaewon screams aggressively from another room.

“NAH THIS IS.” Haseul hears Yeojin try to catch her breath.  “RIGGED. I AM HITTING EVERY FUCKING MOVE.” 

The woman rolls her eyes and follows the sound of her daughter, moving with a newfound curiosity. 

Haseul walks through the house as music from the TV grows louder. She finally gets to the source by walking directly into the living room. She stops mid stride when she sees Yeojin and Chaewon dancing as if their rent was due the next day.

“STARSHIPS. WERE MEANT TO FLYYYYYYYYYYY” Chaewon screams, panting and waving her arms around her frequently. A single tear rolls down her face at the line, but Haseul closes her eyes and nods, understanding her pain.

“I’M GOING TO KILL MYSELF.” Yeojin shrieks, moving her arms all over the place only to achieve various ‘GOOD!’s on her point tally.

“Hey have you guys seen-” Haseul starts but is interrupted by a very passionate Chaewon.

“You gotta FEEL IT.” Chaewon yells as they pull their final pose. 

Chaewon wins first place and Yeojin is second, but only because they were the only two playing.

“I would like to dedicate this ‘W’ to Nicki…may she rest in peace…” Chaewon says with a hand over her heart.

“She’s not dead moron.” Yeojin says, catching her breath.

“Can I play?” Haseul says, startling the two girls who were clearly way too invested to notice the woman watching them play.

“Be my guest, I would love to see this disaster.” Yeojin says, gesturing to the space she had been previously been playing in.

Haseul takes her stance next to Chaewon, waving her arms around in order to get the console to recognize her form. She scrolls through the songs until she finds her selection. 

“Principal Haseul, I don’t think you’re ready for this.” Chaewon takes a deep breath, as if preparing herself for a performance. She takes off her sweatshirt and stretches her arms.

“I’ll see about that!” Haseul says, pulling the towel off her head and flinging it to the side. After cracking her back, the screen dims and a deep electronic guitar begins playing in a tropical tone through the speakers. 

It’s Pump It, by the Black Eyed Peas.

**_HUH. HUH. HAAAAAAAAAAAA. PUMP IT!_ **

Haseul and Chaewon start moving to the beat, both perfectly in sync with the animation on the screen.

“What the fuck!” Yeojin says, but her mother is too focused on the dance moves to be concerned with her daughter’s language.

**_THIS JOINT IS FIZZLIN’, IT’S SIZZLIN’ RIIIIIIIGHT._ **

Haseul is effortlessly hitting every single move. Chaewon herself is breaking a sweat, but there’s a giant smile plastered on her face as she looks over at her principal busting a move.

“I can’t tell if I want to snap my neck or hype you up.” Yeojin says conflicted.

She makes up her mind when she seems to be the only one to notice Vivi returning with the groceries in the corner of her eye.

“YESSSSSSSS LET’S GO MOM!” She whoops.

Fergie’s verse starts and Haseul goes harder than she was before, if that was even possible.

**_LET THOSE SPEAKERS BLOW YOUR MIIIIND, AND LET IT GO LET IT GO HERE WE GO._ **

Haseul twirls her hips in a slow motion and Vivi watches her every move.

“BRING IT A-ROUND TOOOOOWWN!” Yeojin hollers, causing Vivi to cover her mouth to stop from laughing.

The song finally ends, and Haseul high fives a sweating Chaewon. Vivi notices the genuine smile on her daughter’s face and can’t help but feel warm seeing how well the two got along.

“That was great!” Vivi says, finally speaking up from outside of the room.

Chaewon looks over at her mom, and seeing the bag of groceries, she quickly grabs her hoodie and sprints to get the bag, Yeojin right on her tail.

Haseul is left staring at the woman in shock, her hair still slightly damp and her face the color of a tomato.

“H-How much of that did you see?” She asks hesitantly.

“ _This joint is fizzlinnn..._ ” Vivi smiles, executing a part of Haseul’s dance routine. 

“Oh god.” The other woman covers her eyes, completely embarrassed. 

“No, hey, that was great. The best Just Dance performance I’ve ever seen.” Vivi says, pulling Haseul’s hands away from her face. 

They’re left staring at each other for a beat too long before Vivi moves away. 

“We should probably go help with the baking.” 

Haseul shakes her head slightly, her breath nearly getting caught in her throat.

“Yeah!” Haseul croaks out, nervously moving around Vivi and heading back to the kitchen.

***

“What’s up Yeojin Mafia-”

“And Gowonators!”

“Welcome to _Let’s Get BAKED!”_

The two eighth graders were positioned at the granite countertop with Yeojin’s iPhone propped up to film their Instagram livestream. It was only proper, she had said, considering that she had over 100,000 new followers since her upload of Milf Smackdown; the traction was definitely there.

Yeojin’s personal Instagram account **@tupacs_daughter** , although linked to the alias Lil Peni$, lacked any real photos of the child. The entire post feed was just pictures of rappers praying  and poorly drawn self album art, so this live was really her face reveal to her large following.

Nevertheless, Yeojin is wearing a white Jabbawockeez mask. Chaewon dons a gorilla head. The camera is angled in a way where you can barely see the ingredients in front of them, and the girls look even shorter than they already are. Hundreds and thousands of views trickle into the livestream.

“Hey everyone so today we will be making POT BROWNIES,” Yeojin explains loudly, chest puffing up at the idea of having illegal substances in her possession at such a young age.

“WHAT?” Haseul screams off screen. She leans over to Vivi “You got a recipe for that?”

“No!” Vivi responds, raising an eyebrow at her daughter, who just shakes her head “no” as to let them know Yeojin was not being serious.

“Here’s the kush,” the child holds up a Ziploc bag of dried oregano into the camera. She pops it open and brings it closer to give her audience a better look. “It is very fragrant… Go Won can I get a vibe check?”

“Good vibes,” the blonde says in her tiny feminine voice under the massive gorilla mask.

Yeojin squints to read the new comments, and involuntarily reads one out loud. _“Wtf is thissss Y’all just kids,”_ the eighth grader snorts. “That’s not what your mom said last night,”

Chaewon and Yeojin cackle senselessly into the camera. Yeojin reads the next comment aloud. 

 **@lilpeenenthusiast:** “ _where are the milfs”_

“Me every day,” the principal’s daughter dismisses without skipping a beat or answering the question at all. 

 **@yeriana:** _“yalls channel smells like hot garbage”_

“YERI GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!” 

Suddenly, Yeojin sees her mother materialize behind her in the screen. “Sweetie please watch your language or turn it off,” Haseul says calmly.

 **@down4lil:** _“MILF”_

 **@milfnation:** _“BARK BARK BARK”_

“The first thing to do in situations of mental illness is to ask for help,” Yeojin says, shaking her head at the comments. “Let’s begin!” 

Chaewon slams her hand down onto the mini soundboard that she had retrieved from the trunk of Vivi’s car before they started filming. It makes the sound of a machine gun being shot 1000 times.

“Jesus Chaewon, is that really necessary?” Vivi asks looking at her daughter.

“I’M IN A STATE OF GRIEF. THIS IS MY ART LEAVE ME ALONE.” Chaewon responds and hits another button, signalling the sound of several explosions to play out.

Vivi rolls her eyes at her daughter as Haseul brings over a mixer. She scans the ingredients in front of them and then picks up a piece of paper with the recipe on it.

“Here you can do this part, and I can do this. Those kids are not going to get anything done.” Haseul says, pointing at specific parts of the recipe.

Vivi smiles. “Sounds good.”

The two women begin working as the kids continue their very loud and obnoxious livestream behind them. However, after a time, the kids can barely be heard by the women who are working so well together. Vivi does one thing and Haseul does another, complementing each other well. Time passes as the women make occasional jokes and conversation without missing a beat. 

Soon enough, even Yeojin and Chaewon have grown tired, predictably making a single batch of oregano brownies before retiring to the living room. Haseul and Vivi continue moving throughout the kitchen like clockwork to finish the baked goods.

Haseul notices Vivi from the corner of her eye. She always notices her, but something about Vivi being in her house and making cookies with her seems more and more like a dream. Vivi looks up and catches Haseul looking at her, making the principal jump. Haseul drops some flour onto Vivi in the process.

“Oh gosh I’m so sorry!” Haseul says, putting the flour down and trying to wipe the flour off with her hands.

Vivi watches her chuckling and grabs some of the flour in her hand, throwing a little on Haseul instead.

“There, now we’re even.” Vivi says, Haseul looking at her now white clothes. She smirks taking a handful in her hand.

“But what if I wanted to win?” Haseul says playfully, throwing another handful of flour at Vivi. Vivi gasps exaggeratedly and starts grabbing more flour to throw back.

Haseul tries to get another handful but Vivi grabs the bag, hiding it behind her back. Haseul attempts to grab the bag, wrapping her arms around the other woman, both of them giggling like crazy.

The giggling stops once they realize how close their faces are.

Haseul and Vivi are breathing heavily from laughter, looking into each other’s eyes. Haseul’s stomach drops when Vivi doesn’t show any sign of moving away. They remain close, both women standing in silence.

“Hey mom?” 

The women break apart immediately upon hearing Chaewon’s voice. The girl comes into the kitchen holding her mother’s phone. 

“Nate’s calling.” Chaewon gags holding out the phone.

“Oh okay!” Vivi says, quickly walking over to Chaewon. “I’ll be right back.” She says looking over at Haseul.

“Okay.” Haseul gives her a thumbs up, her heart falling to the floor.

“Damn you guys are messy. It reminds me of Nicki’s personality… Oh my god I can’t do this.” Chaewon says. 

The small girl is almost in tears as she walks back into the living room, leaving Haseul in the flour covered kitchen alone.

***

The Has exit the comfort of their tinted windowed Mercedes Benz and are met with the glimmers of thousands of Christmas lights lining the neighborhood in front of them. Candy Cane Lane - one of the most popular tourist attractions of the South Bay during the Christmas season - was located in a peaceful hillside suburb a short drive away from the beach. 

Sooyoung and Jiwoo are scheduled to participate in their shifts at the annual St. Jihyo’s bake sale, and Hyejoo has come to tag along. The three of them are all clad in expensive, stylish coats to keep warm as the Winter chill envelops the scene.

“Honey can you please come get the cookies! Hyejoo you too!” Jiwoo chimes from the other side of the car. “I have the hot chocolate! Which by the way was such a good idea baby,” she affectionately pokes the cheek of Sooyoung, who is now at her side ready to help her wife. 

Sooyoung gives her a guilty smile. The only reason the CEO suggested bringing containers of hot chocolate was because she was hoping to mess with a cup for Jinsol, but Jiwoo didn’t need to know that.

Carrying all their contributions through the crisp air, they walk a small ways from their parking space to the unofficial entrance of the event. They recognize many parents from the school PTA, as well as Irene, who taps away at her MacBook on a side table on an accountability spreadsheet. That is, until she spots the Has coming her way, to which she purses her lips in preemptive irritation.

“Irene!” Jiwoo giggles excitedly, waddling over to the professional woman as she carries the giant containers of Starbucks hot chocolate at her sides.

“Jiwoo! Hello.” Irene says courteously, a bit stressed but giving her a smile. Which fades as she meets the eyes of the other parent at the celebrity’s side. “Sooyoung,” Irene acknowledges dryly, with a signature hint of distaste.

“Irene… Always a pleasure,” Sooyoung jokes in her airy yet very deliberate manner, the fashion queen’s honeyed voice failing to charm the PTA president. Sooyoung sets the cookies down on their stand right by Irene’s side, while Jiwoo helps to arrange the newly added goods in a presentable manner. 

“Alright,” Irene mumbles, scrolling through another spreadsheet on her MacBook. “You two will be paired with another group of parents tonight and that would be-” Irene’s eyes widen at the problematic pairing. “Oh for goodness sake,” Irene tries to edit the particular sheet but Haseul has disabled her from doing so in addition to making half the spreadsheet in Wingdings font requiring Irene to copy and paste every contaminated piece of information into a third party decoder. But that’s nothing compared to the fact that the Ha’s just happen to be paired with none other than...

 _“JUNGIEEE!”_ Jiwoo is screaming like a five-year old seeing her best friend exit the Tesla, as the Jinsol and Choerry organize to retrieve some baked goods from the vehicle. Before Jungeun can pick up their cookie container, Jiwoo is suddenly jumping on her for a spontaneous Koala hug.

“This school is a fever dream,” Irene breathes out into the night.

Hyejoo, face shining from the white light of her phone screen, is the only one who hears, and looks up understandably. “A borderline nightmare really...” 

“Who even paired them together!?” Irene huffs frustratedly in the glow of her laptop and the Christmas lights. 

“ME!” 

The Has, Kims, and Irene all turn to see Principal Haseul approaching them with both of her mittened hands on a covered tin of fresh brownies. Ms. Wong is right behind her, carrying similar baked goods to which Irene subtly yet knowingly raises an eyebrow. Yeojin follows behind them, more trays held steady. Chaewon, on the other hand, is wearing her borrowed black Balenciaga hoodie and giant sunglasses despite the sky being pitch black; despite the fun of baking “pot” brownies, her anguish towards Nicki Minaj had returned. 

If she was being honest, Hyejoo did not understand the love her crush had for Nicki Minaj. Nevertheless, she was worried at the depressed look plastered on the little blonde’s face. Leaving her space adjacent to Irene’s central table, the raven-haired eighth grader makes her way to her crush.

“Hey-” Hyejoo starts, only for Chaewon’s hand to immediately cover her face. 

“We grieving,” the blonde says softly, as if speaking pains her.

Hyejoo’s eyebrows furrow in deep concern. “Still? I thought you texted that you could find the strength eventually?” 

“I did, but it got worse…” Chaewon explains, still covering her face for no reason. “I was scrolling through my feed to check for any updates on the situation only to see that Nicki is m-... She’s marr-...” She can’t even finish the sentence.

“Oh that’s right, she got married, I saw that on the way here,” Hyejoo responds, referring to the odd, questionable Twitter announcement. “That sucks. I can’t believe she would do all of this to you on Christmas,” she says monotonously, but the sincerity is there.

“IT _HURTS!”_ Chaewon shrieks animalistically, and is suddenly throwing herself into Hyejoo’s chest.

 _“Um-_ I, um-” Hyejoo’s eyes are nearly bulging out of their sockets as she feels Chaewon’s sunglasses press into her chest. Her arms instinctively wrap around her, as she not-so-awkwardly rubs her back. “It’s okay…” she says with a tomato red face illuminated by the countless Christmas lights. 

Hyejoo looks up from Chaewon to see Jiwoo in the distance with her jaw agape in the biggest smile she has ever seen on a human face. Her daughter immediately looks away in embarrassment. 

“Hey,” she calls, prompting Chaewon to lift her head and their eyes to meet. Hyejoo’s heart skips its 17th beat of the night, and it hasn’t even been five minutes. “Maybe the lights can take your mind off it, and we can go look at them together?”

Chaewon doesn’t respond immediately, instilling panic in the taller girl’s mind. _“I mean it doesn’tjusthavetobe_ us, like,” Hyejoo says abnormally fast. “Like we can make everyone go, like not everyone obviously because you know the parents have to stay and sell the cookies. The… The cookies-”

“Yes let’s go!” Chaewon answers, eyes filled with Christmas wonder and excitement. “Everyone else is boring anyway,” the eighth grader smiles wide and turns around, tugging the sleeve of her best friend and leading her off to immerse themselves in the heart of the tourist attraction. 

The last thing Hyejoo catches before running along is her mother still looking at her, Jiwoo’s wide-eyed smile growing impossibly larger by the minute. 

“We’ll be back!” Chaewon shouts to her own mother, who is helping organize their contributions with Haseul and Irene. 

“Be safe!” Vivi shouts back. “Stay together!” 

Chaewon responds by tugging Hyejoo’s arm right to her chest and resting her head on the taller girl as they walk into the illuminated neighborhood. 

“Alright well,” Irene rubs her temples. “It says here that the Has and the Kims will be running the joint tables on the corner of the lane over there,” she tells both of the couples, who are now in front of her (Jinsol and Sooyoung seconds away from getting into a hissy fit, their wives standing in between them). 

“UNLESS,” Irene continues, “Someone would like to SWITCH WITH THEM,” the PTA president says right at Haseul who has a mouthful of stolen cookies. Irene shoots an expectant look at Haseul, but Haseul just makes the same look right back, as if they were playing a game.

“NO SWITCHIES I WANT TO BE ON THIS TEAM!” Jiwoo shouts, despite everyone in the conversation being less than a foot away from her. 

“Hopeless,” Irene grumbles under her breath at Haseul, then looks back at the rich women in front of her. “Okay fine. Principal Haseul and Ms. Wong you two can be on the opposite side of the street, over there-” Irene gestures to the open table farthest away from her. “Has and Kims you will be over on that corner over there at the two tables. And _please,_ ” Irene looks directly at Jiwoo and Jungeun. “I will _not_ have another fight break out.”

“Don’t worry Irene!” Jiwoo chimes. “Sooyoungie’s gonna behave, aren’t you honey?” Sooyoung makes one last predatory face at Jinsol before bothering to nod. “That’s what she tells me in the bedroom-”

 _“OKAY!”_ Jungeun interrupts, for good reason. “We’re gonna get our stuff and head over now!” She squeezes Jinsol’s hand lovingly before picking up a platter of baked goods and a money box. 

Irene sighs as both couples finally leave her alone. She turns back around to her table to collect herself.

“Hey!” a familiar voice, her favorite one, brings her out of her thoughts. Seulgi is walking towards her with a very comfortable black coat on and a large coffee in her hand for her wife.

“Hi,” Irene breathes out, happy to her for the first time all day. (She had told her wife to take their daughter out, because she could not have Yeri running around screaming in the kitchen today.) A soft smile blooms on Irene’s normally ever-stressed face. “I missed you,” she says shyly. 

“Awwwe,” Seulgi’s eyes twinkle in the light as she places the coffee down. “I missed you too baby,” she says sweetly, resting her hand on top of Irene’s on the table. 

“Where’s Yeri?” Irene asks, her stress soothed. 

That is, until Yeri peeps her head out slowly from behind Seulgi’s coat. Her blonde head.

She’s blonde. 

Irene chokes hard on her coffee. 

“Hi…” Yeri whispers, clearly terrified of the reaction she knew her stricter mother would elicit from the sight of her dyeing her hair on a whim.

“WOAHHHH HEY HANNAH MONTANA CAN I GET YOUR AUTOGRAPH??” Yeojin screams, running forward through the wet grass to check out her friend’s new hair, an excited Choerry at her side.

Irene stands completely silent, twitching as she looks at her newly blonde daughter. Seulgi offers a very, very, nervous smile. “Haha! We, uh-”

“What the _hell_ did you let her do?!” Irene hisses.

Seulgi taps her pointer fingers together like a five year old. “Well. She said you were okay with it. But then I realized you probably weren’t. But then I had already paid the hair lady for her to do it. So I didn’t know what you’d be more mad at - spending money and getting nothing or Yeri going blonde, so I made an educated guess…” Seulgi trails off, trying to figure out Irene’s thoughts on the matter. Her wife just continued to stare blankly, clenching the clipboard so tight that her knuckles turned white. 

“I’m going to take a nap.” Irene says calmly, handing the clipboard to Haseul and walking away rigidly. Seulgi follows awkwardly, trying to talk Irene down from exploding.

Meanwhile, the Has and Kims are finishing setting up the two tables. 

“This is going to be so much FUN!” Jiwoo exclaims. Her wife offers her a supportive smile, but looks at Jinsol in disgust. “Oh I know! Why don’t we use this time to learn more about each other!” The celebrity clasps her hands together in excitement. “I’ll sit with JINSOL!” she practically screams. “Sooyoung you sit with Jungeun! Even though you already know so much about her!” 

Jinsol immediately looks at her wife in terror, but Jiwoo is already pulling a chair up to join Jinsol at the first table. 

Jinsol swears she can see Sooyoung smirking as she takes her place. And it takes everything in the other CEO to not reach over and strangle her.

***

Jinsol is ready for a reenactment of field day if she’s being completely honest.

The entire shift of them selling cookies has just been her smiling and pretending to listen to Jiwoo’s outrageous stories, while actually listening to her wife and her mortal enemy’s conversations. 

Sooyoung had been making avid conversation with Jungeun the entire time. Of course she never even got close to flirting, she would never do that to Jiwoo in a million years, but she did know it was driving Jinsol insane just to be talking to her. So Sooyoung made it a point to constantly keep the conversation going.

“Hey Jungeun, have you ever heard this one?” Sooyoung begins a joke and delivers it perfectly, causing Jungeun to burst out into fits. Jinsol never thought her wife’s laugh would cause her to cringe until that moment.

 

“What’s four times zero?”

Jinsol snaps out of her thoughts to face the ever ecstatic Jiwoo who has just asked her that question.

“...What?” 

“What’s four times zero?” Jiwoo asks again, an eyebrow rising inquisitively. 

“Zero.” Jinsol responds plainly.

“Okay but,” Jiwoo challenges, “If you’ve got four zeroes, you still have four of them…” 

Jinsol’s brain feels as though the gears have stopped turning and she’s sitting completely dumbfounded at this new information.

“Wait a minute-”

“AHHHAHAHAHAHA!”

Jinsol looks over to see Jungeun laughing at another poor joke Sooyoung had just made. It probably wasn’t even that good, and yet her wife was cackling like a maniac. 

The shift was almost over, when Jungeun says she’s craving a cup of hot chocolate. Sooyoung smiles, seeing the perfect opportunity for her prank.

“Oh I’ll get you one don’t worry.” Sooyoung says. She turns to her wife. “Do you want one baby?” 

“Yessss!” Jiwoo says, and then turns to Jinsol. “OH! Jinsol you should have one too!” She looks back and Sooyoung. “Get her one too!” 

“For sure!” Sooyoung says a little too enthusiastically for Jinsol’s liking. She shifts uncomfortably as Sooyoung walks back to poor drinks. 

“She said that really weird…” Jinsol remarks.

“She’s been in the Christmas spirit lately!” Jiwoo says, but looks back at her wife pouring the drinks. Jinsol’s right, it was a little too perky of her to get Jinsol a drink voluntarily… something was definitely off. 

“I’m going to go help her though!” Jiwoo said standing up and walking over to her wife.

Jiwoo was there just in time to see Sooyoung drop a small white tablet into one of the cubs. 

“What are you doing?!” Jiwoo says suddenly from behind her, making the fashion CEO jump and nearly spill the hot cup.

“Jesus Jiwoo!” Sooyoung says in a whisper, trying her best not to look like she was just caught red handed. “Um, nothing…” 

“What’d you put in there?” Jiwoo asks, an eyebrow raising.

“What? Nothing,” she says cooly, but can’t fight the guilt that shines through her tone of voice.

“Okay! So this perfectly fine for me to drink.” Before Sooyoung can even react, Jiwoo takes the contaminated cup and chugs the entirety of the scalding hot chocolate completely.

 _“NOOOOOOO JIWOO NO!”_ Sooyoung screams very dramatically, causing Jinsol to look back at them as well as a few families walking by.

“Is everything okay back there?” Jinsol calls over in mild concern.

“Yeah everything’s fine Greta Thunberg mind your business.” Sooyoung says, turning back to her wife, dragging her off to the side eyes wide. _“Why did you drink that?!?”_ Sooyoung says, panicked.

“Why what was in it? POISON?” Jiwoo says a little too loudly. “I TOLD you to throw your cyanide away!” 

“What? No!” Sooyoung says, eyebrows furrowing in stress and fingers raising to massage them. “I put a fucking laxative in there,” she mumbles through her hands. “A _lot_. Like enough to lose fifteen pounds.”

“GOOD!” Jiwoo says confidently. “Now the air wafting into our bedroom tonight will match your shitty attitude!” 

Jiwoo downs the remnants of hot chocolate and even taps the bottom of the cup so that the remaining dissolved laxative would fall into her mouth. Then, she walks back over to the table with the two clean cups and hands them to Jungeun and Jinsol.

Sooyoung groans and walks back over to the station. She sits back down next to Jungeun and Jiwoo.

“Hey Jungie, do you want to go check out the lights? I need a break from this craziness!” Jiwoo says, eye contact with Sooyoung for trying to slip a laxative to her friend’s wife.

“Jiwoo, do you think that’s really a good idea…? They would still have to be at the booth for like fifteen minutes…” Jungeun prods, unsure at what leaving the two women alone for that long would mean for the safety of everyone in the entire neighborhood.

“No go it’s ok. You guys have fun!” Jinsol says, reassuring her wife, standing up to kiss her softly.

“Umm..” Jungeun says, but before she can object any further, Jiwoo links their arms together and pulls her towards the glittering Christmas lights.

Once they are out of eyesight, Jinsol spares no time in throwing a cookie at Sooyoung’s head.

“OW WHAT THE-” Sooyoung tries to get out, but is continuing to be pelted with cookies. “STOP! This jacket was made in Wakanda!”

Jinsol pauses. “Wakanda?”

“Yes. Jiwoo says that is where the best materials come from and you know, being me, I am obviously going to be wearing only the best material.”

Jinsol starts chuckling, causing the other CEO’s demeanor to falter. “WAKANDA isn’t a real PLACE you IDIOT!”

“Yes it is Jiwoo told me she saw it in a documentary.” Sooyoung says confidently. “The Panther.”

“ _BLACK_ PANTHER?” Jinsol is in hysterics now. 

“Woah WOAH. That is a little problematic of you Jinsol. Not everything is about race.” 

Jinsol is now gasping for air from how hard she’s laughing.

Sooyoung, extremely insulted and confused, starts reaching for some of her own cookies and throws them back at Jinsol, causing her to cease her laughter.

“YOU’RE SO FUCKING OBNOXIOUS!” Jinsol whisper-screams, flinging cookies at Sooyoung.

Sooyoung is about to retaliate, arm high in the air holding a cupcake she’s about to slam down like the hand of God, when a cough escapes a tiny mouth in front of the booth.

“Um. Can we buy a cupcake or?” Hyejoo asks the women who are fighting _yet again,_ Chaewon staring at them next to her.

“...You don’t have to pay for it.” Sooyoung says embarrassedly, offering her daughter the cupcake. “It’s on me.” 

“Okay…” Hyejoo says cautiously, taking the cupcake and handing it to Chaewon. “Where’s mom?”

“Um she went to go look at the lights with Auntie Jungeun,” Sooyoung responds. “I don’t know how much longer she’s going to last if I’m being honest,” she adds quietly. 

“Why wouldn’t she last?” Hyejoo asks, a little concerned. 

“She… She’s going to have… Um. Bathroom issues?” Sooyoung says more as a question rather than a statement. 

Honestly Hyejoo is just too afraid to even ask at this point. 

“Okay… Well Principal Haseul said it was okay for us to leave if we wanted. I was over there for a while hanging out with everyone.” 

“Oh okay yeah great.” Sooyoung stands up. “Let’s go find your mother then… Jinsol.” Sooyoung says, eyes glaring as she passes in front of the blonde to walk along the path. Hyejoo says goodbye to Chaewon as she follows her mother.

Chaewon is left behind awkwardly standing next to Jinsol. The older woman tries a smile only to be reciprocated with a very judging look.

“Doesn’t your scalp like, hurt?”

Jinsol is taken aback by the little girl’s comment. “What?”

“It’s just so blonde… Aren’t you scared it’s going to fall out?”

Jinsol’s eyebrows crinkle together.

“Wh- you’re blonde too why are you asking me this?” 

“Yeah but yours is lookin’ a little fried Mrs. Kim.” with that, Chaewon flips her hair over her shoulder and struts away.

Meanwhile Hyejoo is still trailing behind her mother.

“So do I want to know why you looked like you were about to slam that cupcake on Mrs. Kim’s head?” Hyejoo asks.

“No, probably not.” Sooyoung says as her and Hyejoo walk into the distance, trying to find Jiwoo. “But I’m ready to go home.”

***

Twinkling of all colors illuminate the neighborhood as Principal Haseul and Ms. Wong walk the empty street of Candy Cane Lane together. The attraction had officially begun to close; cars foreign to residents had long since left.

With hands stuffed in her coat pockets for warmth, Haseul’s face is absolutely radiant under the Christmas lights. Vivi catches a subtle glimpse as they consume the neighborhood together, adoring the light pink flush on the other woman’s cheeks from the cold, not even able to tear her eyes away.

Vivi is caught, though, when Haseul turns to look at her but catches her already staring. They both stop in their tracks.

“Wait, is there something on my face?” Haseul asks casually, hands moving to her cheeks as a guise for the fact that they are getting ten times redder.

“No, no,” Vivi breathes, white vapor escaping from the cold. Her eyes dart across Haseul’s face in awe one time, two times, centimeters back and forth as if taking it all in for permanent memory. “You’re just pretty,” she finishes, even softer.

Haseul stands, frozen, wondering how that’s possible when she feels so overwhelmingly warm inside. Not really knowing how to respond, she instead musters up the courage to link her own arm with Vivi’s as they continue through the neighborhood. 

Vivi fights the unfamiliar impulse to rest her head on Haseul’s shoulder.

“Any plans for winter break?” Haseul asks, looking over at her.

The art teacher has an unreadable expression. “Nate is taking us on a trip to Cancun,” she says, trying to sound enthusiastic, but failing miserably.

Haseul scoffs a little with a smile. “You don’t seem too excited,” she dares to press.

“No, no I am, I’m just sleepy,” Vivi defends herself dryly. “I always sound like this,” she supplements, directly contradicting her first excuse. 

Haseul knows neither of them are true. But she says nothing as they continue walking in silence, Vivi comfortably clinging onto the principal’s arm.

“It’s just,” Vivi starts, feeling the urge to explain herself in the silence. “He does a lot for us.” 

A long pause, a few more crunches on the artificial snow.

“It’s a lot that… That we don’t need. But I’m thankful, of course,” the teacher says, as if choosing her words very carefully.

A few more steps together in silence. “...But?” Haseul asks gently, knowing that there’s more to hear that is going unsaid.

Vivi sighs. “But…” She tucks some loose strands of burnt orange hair behind her ear gracefully. “Sometimes-” she stops, seemingly struggling to verbalize. “Sometimes I just feel like I want something more than that.” 

It’s the most revealing thing Vivi has ever said about her relationship, and Haseul’s heart races in her chest with hope. “More than Cancun?” She plays dumb, just to get more out of her.

“More than… Money.” Vivi’s eyes look melancholy, staring out into the empty street, looking out into the world in front of her for something she can’t quite place. “The feeling that money can’t buy.” 

Haseul somehow gathers the courage to ask, “And he doesn’t make you feel that way?” 

“No, no no that’s not what I meant,” Vivi backtracks, refusing to put that stamp on her relationship even if it may be true. “I…” 

Haseul still stares at her with concern and loving eyes.

“I’m saying too much,” Vivi laughs nervously, shaking her head. “And I shouldn’t be complaining.”

The principal notes that not once did Vivi say that she loves him.

They walk peacefully in the silence, a million thoughts running through Haseul’s head. She feels Vivi shiver against her arm. “It’s _so_ cold,” she whispers.

Haseul stops in the middle of the street and unlinks their arms, both of them shining from the flashing of the golden white LEDs.

“Here,” Haseul says, removing her red scarf from around her neck selflessly. 

“Oh no, Haseul, what about you?” Vivi asks, but Haseul is already carefully draping the warm fleece around the teacher’s head.

The principal just shakes it off, with a casual “I didn’t need it anyway.” 

The two of them are mere centimeters apart, yet again, and Vivi holds her breath and the sight of someone so beautiful so close. 

Haseul finishes with the scarf, but can’t seem to let go for some reason. 

Their eyes meet, and the seconds feel like an eternity.

Vivi’s eyes twinkle, her cheeks just peeking out over the red scarf, and Haseul can tell she’s starting to smile. It makes her sad, thinking that some part inside of Vivi is unhappy.

“Now come on,” Haseul smiles. “Let’s make sure our kids haven’t killed each other,” the principal says, linking arms with Vivi once again.

And maybe it’s the eggnog, but something about Haseul saying ‘our kids’ makes Vivi’s heart bloom.

***

“WHAT’S UP FUCKERS.” Yeojin says walking into the Kim household. 

“Yeojin. Welcome.” Jinsol greets the girl that just walked through her front door with a glare.

“Oh sh… shoot! Haha shoot I’m so sorry Dr. Kim I thought, this was just a children’s event…” Yeojin says awkwardly scratching the back of her neck, present in hand. Jinsol could barely see the wrapping paper around it because of the extreme amount of tape layered on top of it.

Jungeun Kim walks towards her wife and the tiny eighth grader. “Yeojin! So glad you’re here! The girls are all waiting for you upstairs in the east lounge room.” She says.

Yeojin dabs, not knowing what else to do in the moment, and then awkwardly side steps past the couple. 

“Alright I’ll just…” She turns slowly and then quickly sprints up the stairs.

Jungeun turns to her wife with a big smile. “Isn’t she funny!”

Jinsol is still squinting, as if she can still see the younger girl. “She’s a little bit out of it if you ask me...”

“So are you, what’s your point?” Jungeun says playfully, making Jinsol pout. Jungeun rolls her eyes. “Oh come on you big baby. Let’s go watch Catfish.” 

Jinsol smiles, looking at her in admiration. “I told you it was good.”

“Shut up.” Jungeun says, but she drags Jinsol into the living room to binge some more of their new favorite series.

***

“Thank god the elf is here we can finally start.”

Yeri receives a harsh push from Yeojin as the tinier girl walks into the lounge room.

“I will walk right back out of this establishment.” Yeojin threatens.

“Walk back downstairs after that awkward ass conversation you just had with Choerry’s moms?” Hyejoo asks, causing all the other girls to giggle.

“Y… You heard that?” Yeojin asks, covering her eyes with her hand to avoid looking at her friends.

“Come on I want to see what I got!” Choerry says pulling Yeojin to the floor.

All the girls sit comfortably on top of a big fuzzy rug in the middle of the east lounge room. The Christmas tree placed in the corner of the room sets the perfect mood for the kids to enjoy their holiday fun. The coffee table next to them has left over cupcakes from the bake sale and a pitcher of milk is ready for the girls to dig into. 

“Okay who’s going first let’s get this show on the road.” Yeojin asks. 

Chaewon raises her hand immediately, waving really aggressively as if there was anyone else with their hand up.

“Okay someone give Chaewon her gift already Jesus.” Yeojin says.

Yeri presents a giant box to Chaewon and the smaller of the two squeals with joy. She unwraps the box recklessly and pulls of the lid. In her hands she’s holding a giant megaphone. She looks at Yeri quizzically.

“You gotta SPEAK UP girl. Sometimes you talk and I think I hear my dead dog whispering to me. Fucking freaks me out.” Yeri says, but Chaewon pays no attention, turning the megaphone. 

 **_“THANKS YERI.”_ ** Chaewon screams into the bullhorn. Yeojin covers her ears in distaste.

“Damn it Yeri she’s never going to stop using that shit she already has a soundboard.” 

Chaewon crawls from her comfortable place next to Hyejoo to put the megaphone in Yeojin’s face.

 **_“DEAL WITH IT.”_ ** She blasts through the megaphone at frightening volume.

“Alright, Yeri’s next.” Hyejoo says, pulling on Chaewon to get her to sit back down.

Yeojin chucks her tape wrapped gift in Yeri’s general direction, missing by a few feet. Yeri rolls her eyes and crawls over to pick it up.

“How am I even supposed to open this.” Yeri says, struggling with all her might to open the present. 

“Bite it with your teeth don’t be a coward.” Yeojin responds. 

Hesitantly Yeri does it and rips the wrapping open. She tears at the paper, until a bottle falls out. Yeri reads the label and then looks up at Yeojin.

“You got me… Hair treatment?” She asks.

“Yeah, because after bleaching your hair I don’t want you to go bald!” Yeojin says, receiving wrapping paper to the face. “I CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH!”

“Okay where’s Yeojin’s present?” Chaewon asks.

Choerry puts a little box, wrapped phenomenally, in front of the girl. 

“Wowww pullin’ out all the stops with this one huh? You sure a robot didn’t wrap this?” Yeojin says, carefully unwrapping the box as not to ruin the hard work. 

“Ugh hurry up!” Yeri teases and Yeojin puts a hand up. 

“THIS IS A DELICATE PROCEDURE. I’M DOING SURGERY ON A BOX.” She states loudly.

Finally Yeojin takes the box out and opens it. Inside is a little handcrafted orange bracelet with white and black beads that reads **YEOJIN**.

“It’s a friendship bracelet! I have one too!” Choerry says, lifting her wrist to reveal a purple one matching Yeojin’s, except her beads say **CHOERRY**. Yeojin inspects the bracelet closely.

“I don’t know I’ve never been much of a bracelet wearer…” Yeojin trails off.

“Oh!” Choerry says, smiling nervously. “Well I just wanted you to have it, you don’t have to wear it-” 

“BACK OFF. CHAE HELP ME PUT THIS ON.” Yeojin turns and Chaewon does as she’s asked.

“Me next right?” Choerry asks and her friends nod. Hyejoo hesitates before softly offering her friend a roughly wrapped present. 

Choerry’s eyes shine and she takes the gift, unwrapping it carefully even though Hyejoo’s decorating skills were less than subpar. She pulls out a small pink plush lion. 

“LION!!! From Steven Universe!!” Choerry hugs the little toy with all her might. 

“You watch Steven?” Yeojin asks from across the circle.

“Of course!” Choerry looks back at Hyejoo. “Thank you! This is one of the best gifts I’ve gotten for Christmas so far!”

“Have you gotten other gifts?” Chaewon asks suspiciously.

“YES! I FORGOT TO TELL YOU GUYS.” Choerry says excitedly, pulling out her phone. “Chad gave me this before we went on break! Isn’t it romantic!” 

Choerry shows the girls the back of her phone case, where there’s a polaroid jammed inside of Chad smiling. His eyes are closed as if he was blinded by the light of the flash and the words “luv u merry xmas bb” was written on the bottom sloppily in permanent marker.

Yeri and Yeojin looked at each other. “So romantic.” They said in unison.

“Well there’s still something else. I think?” Hyejoo questions, squinting to try and see her other gift.

Choerry shakes the wrapping paper lightly and a little piece of paper falls out. The pink haired girl holds it up to read.

**COUPON FOR ONE HUG.**

Choerry smiles so wide, Hyejoo is scared that she’s going to break her jaw. 

“THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!” Choerry immediately jumps from her seat and tackles Hyejoo.

“This counts.” Hyejoo mumbles from under the girl even though she’s smiling from her good gift giving. 

“I figured.” Choerry says, handing over the coupon.

“Okay one more person. And of course Chae got her.” Yeojin says smirking, obviously teasing the two girls.

 **_“SHUT UP.”_ **Chaewon blares through her megaphone, sending Yeojin backwards.

Chaewon puts her megaphone away and suddenly changes her demeanor, any signs of teasing completely erased. She pulls a little box out from behind her and hands it to Hyejoo.

Hyejoo takes the box, trying her best not to blush. She opens it carefully and nearly gasps at what’s inside. 

Settled neatly on a padded display was a gorgeous silver necklace in the shape of a small wolf. Hyejoo ran her fingers over it delicately, getting close to look at the detail.

“Wh- how??” Hyejoo questions, as she stares at the gift in awe.

“I saved up all my allowances.” Chaewon say shyly.

“THE LIMIT WAS LITERALLY $20.” Yeojin says, ruining the sweet moment between the girls. She sighs when Hyejoo looks at her in dismay. “Well Hyejoo you might as well give Chaewon the gift we all know you got her AGAINST THE RULES.” 

Hyejoo makes a face on the edge of denial, but lets her shoulders slump in defeat. She pulls out a similar box to the one that she had received, and hands it to Chaewon. The smaller girl takes it and opens the box quickly.

“No way...” She says, marvelling at the contents of the box. Inside is a nearly identical necklace, only the small charm is that of a butterfly. Hyejoo smiles warmly as Chaewon looks at it. 

“It’s like we’re soulmates or something. HAHA.” Hyejoo laughs loudly, trying to awkwardly cover up the intense words that she had just realized she had said.

“Thank you... I love it.” Chaewon says, snuggling into Hyejoo as the taller girl’s face goes red.

“Are you guys done making out? Because I’m about to dive into those cupcakes…” Yeri says, and Chaewon and Hyejoo split apart, still unable to contain their blushing.

“YES HUNTY, LET’S DEVOUR THIS.” Yeojin says, as she grabs the first cupcake and the other girls follow.

The gang talk for hours until they have to go home, giggling and enjoying each others company before disappearing for the holidays.

It was the group’s best Secret Santa yet.

***

The door to Jungeun and Jinsol’s master bedroom bursts open dramatically at 12:00AM on the dot. 

 _“MOMMIES!”_ Their daughter’s ever-energetic voice rips through the quiet, peaceful ambiance the two wives had created in their oversized bedroom. Jungeun and Jinsol, once sprawled out on their respective sides of their big white bed, are now started awake by their screaming child. “MERRY CHRISTMAS!” 

“MY CALCULATOR-” Jungeun shouts half awake, re-entering the world just at the climax of her night terror. Jinsol, tucking messy blonde hair behind her ear and also half-awake, rubs her eyes and scoots over to comfort her wife.

“The calculator dream again?” Jinsol asks softly, as if Choerry didn’t just break the sound barrier. The CEO brushes some hair away from her beloved wife’s face. 

“It never stops breaking,” Jungeun responds seriously, eyes barely open as she rests her head on Jinsol’s shoulder. Both women look up at their daughter at the foot of their bed, who is desperately trying to keep herself from laughing. 

“Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you!” Choerry whispers loudly, visible due to the hallway light coming in through the doorway. “MERRY CHRISTMAS!” she squeals again, then dramatically throws herself onto her mothers’ bed to give them a hug. 

Before they can even properly respond to Choerry cuddling into their warm bodies, the eighth grader is off the bed and dragging sizable presents towards her parents. 

Jungeun, still nestling herself in Jinsol’s chest in response to the cold midnight air, smiles sleepily. “So excited for Christmas I see,” she comments playfully, truly not even bothered to be awoken because of the endearing display.

Jinsol had always let Choerry open her normal presents at midnight ever since she was a toddler, leaving her presents from Santa for the next morning. Even a few years back when Choerry cried upon finding out Santa truly was not real, Jinsol made sure to still leave her extra presents to open in the morning to keep her customary joy alive.

Jungeun had always protested, saying Jinsol spoiled her too much, but she was no match for her two very stubborn girls. Plus, if Jungeun was being honest, she loved watching Jinsol spoil their daughter any time of the year.

“Well go ahead baby, open them!” Jinsol encourages quietly as Choerry giggles in front of them, on their bed once again.

“Wait,” the eighth grader whispers, then pulls out a homemade purple card from behind her back. She extends it out to her moms. “You two first.” 

The two women look at their daughter, stunned and speechless (as if Choerry doesn’t always do this for them, even when it’s not a holiday).

“You… Wrote us a card?” Jinsol says with tears suddenly pooling in her eyes, trying to stop her voice from cracking.

“...Yes…?” Choerry confirms as her head tilts in confusion at both of her mothers’ sudden waterworks. “You guys are so bare minimu-”

Jinsol covers her mouth to stifle a sob as if she’d just seen the most beautiful work of art on the planet when Jungeun opens the card to reveal Choerry’s very poor but very effortful (bless her heart) drawing of a family picture on one side of the purple cardstock. And on the other:

**_Merry Christmas Mommies. I’m so grateful to have you as my family. I would never ask for anyone better. I love you so so so so SOSOSOSOSO so so SO so SO-_ **

(Choerry continues, taking up the rest of the space on the page.) 

**SO much. I love you ♥**

**\- Choerry**

Jungeun immediately bursts into tears, followed closely by Jinsol doing the same. “T-That, was so BEAUTIFUL-” Jinsol chokes out in happiness. 

“...You guys didn’t even get your present yet?” Choerry asks quizzically, while Jungeun gasps dramatically. 

“THAT WASN’T THE PRESENT?” The CFO says through sobs. Jinsol pulls her wife closer out of comfort, even though she’s just as much of a sappy mess. 

“No! This is,” Choerry pulls out a perfectly wrapped rectangular present to give to her moms. 

When Jungeun and Jinsol finally finish removing the wrapping, they lift the product from the box with the utmost care. “Oh wow…” Jinsol says quietly as she watches Jungeun run her hands over the object inside.

Sitting in the box is a glimmering metal rectangular frame shining with stars that light up bright white. A screen is placed in the center and a small switch on the side. 

“I made it myself with extra parts from Halloween. Finding the pictures took the longest time though, I spent hours on your Facebook profiles. You have to turn it on...” Choerry says, voice trembling a little out of sudden anxiousness despite her parents being the most nurturing pair in the world.

Jungeun moves the switch to turn the homemade device on. 

The screen comes to life, displaying a picture of the three of them together from nearly nine whole years ago, sitting on the beach of their home. After a few seconds the picture smoothly transitions to a picture Jinsol had taken long ago, one of Jungeun holding Choerry’s hand as they walk down the sidewalk after picking Choerry up from her first day of Kindergarten. The emotions overwhelm Jinsol at this point, and she can no longer see the pictures in front of her from the tears clouding her vision. More recent pictures move across the screen, most of them Choerry and Jungeun except for the few that were taken within the past couple of months of the girl and Jinsol on the way to school.

It switches again to a picture of Jinsol cradling baby Choerry in her arms, looking down at her as though she is the most precious thing on the planet.

Jungeun has already begun sobbing again, and now Jinsol is also in hysterics.

“W-Why are you guys crying so much?” Choerry asks, fighting the urge to cry too watching her mothers break down in front of her.

“We love you so much,” Jinsol whispers lovingly as she lunges forward to pull Choerry into her and her wife’s arms.

“I love. You. Too.” Choerry struggles out, being muffled by both of their tight, loving embraces. “Can’t. Breathe.”

“Oh sorry sweetie,” Jungeun chokes out, laughing blissfully as they both loosen their grip. “This is amazing, thank you.” She says, kissing her daughter’s forehead.

“Okay… So, can it be my turn now?” Choerry says, looking at the pile of presents like a hungry lion.

“Of course!” Jinsol says, rubbing her eyes.

Choerry squeals, reaching for the first present and unwrapping it quickly and carefully.

Jinsol brings Jungeun into her arms, wiping the tears from her mess of a wife. Both women watch as their daughter opens present after present.

Jinsol takes in her beautiful family and she wishes she could just stay right here in this moment, forever and ever.

***

It’s quite a while before sunrise when Sooyoung sneaks out of bed on Christmas morning.

The Has had lounged around all day on Christmas Eve, a perfectly comfortable precursor to the biggest holiday of the year. Even after the debacle with Jinsol, her family seemed to not let it affect their Christmas spirit.

Sooyoung was glad. She had something special planned for her family, and if her stupid prank on Jinsol had ruined it, she would have been peeved. (If that she meant she’d be upset at Jinsol rather than herself, well, that was nobody else’s business.)

The tall CEO quietly walks down the stairs of her house, careful not to make a sound. She tiptoes past the living room, the magical soft glow of multicolored Christmas tree lights highlighting her face as she moves throughout her mansion. 

Once Sooyoung gets to garage door, she clicks the light switch carefully, as if Jiwoo or their daughter would somehow be able to hear her from this far. In front of her is a plethora of neatly wrapped gifts, all bundled together inside of a huge clear plastic bag. 

The richest business executive in the world had purchased a few extra surprise gifts for her family this year. She had figured they needed it. With Jiwoo out of the loop and Sooyoung not knowing a thing about wrapping, she had sent them to be wrapped in secret. Eunseo would deliver them to the garage when Sooyoung let her know the family was asleep. 

Sooyoung grabs the bag with all of her strength and throws it over her shoulder, moving as quietly as she can go back to the main tree by their grand foyer.

As Sooyoung begins to unpack the gifts, she shivers a bit from the cold morning air and completely regrets not grabbing her robe. She scans the room for a blanket, but remembers they were taken across the house for laundry earlier this evening. 

Sighing, she looks around to find any source of warmth, and her eyes land on a Santa hat Jiwoo had been happily sporting around all day. Sooyoung smiles at the thought of her sweet wife, and gladly takes the hat and places it on her own head. 

She continues gently placing the presents under the tree, too focused to see her daughter curiously spying on her from the top of the stairs. 

Hyejoo stops halfway, watching her mother put gifts under the tree at four in the morning. For a moment, she thinks she’s dreaming. All she wanted was a glass of water, but instead she was witnessing the live version of the Grinch after his heart grew two sizes.

She watches as Sooyoung places boxes under the tree delicately. Hyejoo squints to see her name on a majority of the gifts being handled by her mother, and her eyebrows raise. 

Hyejoo creeps back up the stairs, and back into her room. She grabs a project she had thrown away after seeing her mom fight with Dr. Kim. Hyejoo looks at the small object and places it inside a box by her desk, wrapping it cleanly.

Her mom wasn’t the only one who could plan a Christmas gift surprise.

***

“ANOTHER CAR!” 

Jiwoo wraps her arms around her wife as she opens her last box of her mountain of presents. It’s the keys to a Monster Truck.

“Thank you sweetie pie!” Jiwoo plants a sweet kiss on Sooyoung’s lips, then gasps in excitement. “I’M GONNA RUN OVER ALL MY OTHER CARS-”

“NO!” Hyejoo panics, fearing the day Jiwoo picks her up from school in a monster truck. She herself is sitting in front of her own opened mountain of gifts, waiting for the rest of her family to finish their turns.

“Alright it’s your turn!” Jiwoo smiles widely, handing Sooyoung a giant box. “Well the one you can open in public anyway.” She says winking.

Sooyoung giggles like a little school girl as she recklessly unwraps the gift. Once she basically rips the cardboard apart, she pulls out a giant onesie, accompanied by a mug.

“IT’S A GRUMPY CAT COLLECTION!” Jiwoo basically screeches with joy as Sooyoung looks over the gifts, an unreadable expression on her face. “Get it? Because you’re grumpy, but still lovable!!” Jiwoo says, her hands clasped together in amusement.

Hyejoo watches on edge, slightly afraid of what Sooyoung’s reaction was going to be. Within a few seconds she had her answer.

Sooyoung looked enamored with the onesie, immediately putting it on. She admired the mug, looking at every detail.

“I love this.” Sooyoung says firmly, inspecting the rest of the cup, and Jiwoo grins widely. 

“Seriously?” Hyejoo questions and both of her mothers look at her. She backtracks. “Not in a bad way just I didn’t think you’d like that.” 

“It came from my family. Of course I like it.” Sooyoung says matter-of-factly. Hyejoo just nods. _Good to know._ She thinks to herself.

“Well I guess that’s the last present.”

Jiwoo and Sooyoung look at each other knowingly.

“ACTUALLY!” Jiwoo says, grabbing Hyejoo’s hands. “We have one more gift for you!”

“Wha-”

Hyejoo can’t even get a word out as Jiwoo drags the young girl up the stairs, Sooyoung not far behind. They keep walking until they get to one of the vacant rooms near Hyejoo’s side of the hallway.

Jiwoo covers her daughter’s eyes, as they come to a stop. Pulling out a key, Sooyoung walks around the girls and unlocks the door.

Jiwoo guides Hyejoo a few steps inward before pulling her hands back away from her face.

“SURPRISE!!!” Jiwoo squeals.

Hyejoo opens her eyes, and quite frankly she doesn’t know what to say. 

The room’s walls are a dark shade of grey, darker than her own room even. The walls are lined with neon lights, looking as if each panel of the room was its own circuit board. Multiple comfortable black leather recliners sat in front of a gigantic plasma screen TV. Connected to the television was various game consoles, as well as a computer for whatever Hyejoo wanted to use it for. 

3 shelves of brand new games were placed on the only empty space next to the television. An entire section behind the recliners was dedicated to double mini fridges that held all of Hyejoo’s favorite snacks. 

Hyejoo looks around the room, completely speechless. Sooyoung clears her throat to speak instead.

“Um, me and your mother thought it would be good. For you to have more space for your game things. We thought maybe your room might be a little cramped-”

“Right we thought that. We don’t know for sure because we’ve never been in your room ever in our lives so how could we know that. We don’t! HAHA.” Jiwoo interjects nervously, and Sooyoung takes her arm, trying to keep her from saying anything else.

“ANYWAY,” Sooyoung looks at her wife with wide eyes and then turning back to her daughter. “We thought you might like a new space for yourself.”

“Th- Thank you…” Hyejoo feels like she’s floating as she runs her hands along the walls up to her knew enormous TV. 

“OH I LEFT THE CAMERA DOWNSTAIRS NOBODY MOVE!” Jiwoo says loudly, as she escapes Sooyoung’s grasp to run down the stairs. 

Sooyoung and Hyejoo stand alone in the younger girl’s new game room. Sooyoung scratches the back of her neck.

“So do you- Um...do you like- you know...it?” She asks awkwardly. Her daughter turns to her.

“Um. Yeah. This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen…” Hyejoo says, still in awe. 

“Merry Christmas then.” Sooyoung says with a sigh of relief. 

“Oh shoot.” Hyejoo says, snapping out of her trance. She pulls a little box out of her back pocket. 

“Um.” Hyejoo says, slowly making her way over to her mother. “I… made this for you.” She extends her hand out.

Sooyoung cautiously takes the box, causing Hyejoo to immediately withdraw, wanting to put her attention on anything else just in case her mother didn’t like it.

Sooyoung unwraps the small box carefully and opens the lid. Underneath is a small figure resembling a person. It has long dark hair, is very slim, and wears a very sleek and fashionable business suit. On the hand of the figure is a small button. Sooyoung presses it.

 **“I’M A COOL MOM.”** The figure says robotically, and Sooyoung smiles. She hits the button again.

 **“SUCCESS.”** The figure says, causing Sooyoung to laugh a little. She presses the hand one more time.

 **“I’M A MILF.”** It exclaims. Instantly, Hyejoo speaks up to explain herself.

“Yeojin made me put that in there. She would not leave me alone until I promised her that it was in there.” Hyejoo says, avoiding eye contact with her mother.

Sooyoung takes the figure out of the box to see that it is attached to a keychain. “You made this? Like with the voice and everything?” 

“Yeah. I’m kind of good and making. Electronics. And stuff…” Hyejoo says, looking at the present in her mother’s hands.

“Yeah I’m starting to realize that.” Sooyoung says, putting the figure in her onesie pocket. “Thank you. I like it a lot.”

“You’re welcome.” Hyejoo says, shying away from her mother’s strange display of kindness.

“OKAY I GOT IT.” Jiwoo says from outside the room as she bounds through the door. “It was in between the couch.” She says, holding up her phone.

“Come around me please. Say Christmas selfie!” Jiwoo says as her family comes up to her.

“You both better SMILE.” Jiwoo says, bordering a threat. 

As commanded, everyone in the picture is showing teeth, and Jiwoo takes a billion before lowering the phone. 

“I love you both so much. Now let’s play Mario Kart on Hyejoo’s new game thingy!” Jiwoo says excitedly running over to collapse on a recliner.

“The Wii is not new.” Hyejoo says, but giggles on her way over to her mom, who already has a controller in hand. She looks over at her taller mother. “Do you want to play too?” She asks shyly.

“Um...” Sooyoung trails off. “I don’t know how to play.” 

Jiwoo gets up and loops her arm through her wife’s. “Don’t worry honeybear. I’ll teach you.” With that, Jiwoo places a delicate kiss on Sooyoung’s cheek and drags her over to the couches with her.

Sooyoung gets last place in every race. She nearly throws a fit every time she falls off of Rainbow Road.

But Jiwoo kisses her every time she loses and Hyejoo gives her pointers on how to improve.  

She may be terrible at Mario Kart, but maybe she wasn’t so bad at having a family. At least, not on Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg that was long as hell! it was kind of interesting to initially cowrite so many scenes i wouldn’t normally so i hope u guys still like it! look forward to 2jin in the next chapter as well as the fun backstory spin off for 2jin that will be released with it! let us know your thoughts and stuff!! Also im seeing itzy in nyc so everyone say hi to me :p- daniela 
> 
> HEYYY YOU leave a comment :DDD And like Daniela said there wasn’t any 2Jin this chapter but they are big next chapter (New Year’s special) so stay tuned <3  - Cat 
> 
>  
> 
> Twitters: @jiwoorene - Daniela
> 
> @igbtchuuves - Cat
> 
>  
> 
> Daniela's CuriousCat: curiouscat.me/yoojungsua
> 
> Bring LOONA to Chicago: https://mmt.fans/8prU/


	10. New Year's Eve (3Jin Smackdown)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: You must read our bonus chapter of 3Jin’s backstory before reading this chapter! read here → tinyurl.com/3jinbackstory
> 
> and as you may have NOTICED these holiday chapters don’t have much plot-progressing or (main) character-developing drama and they’re just very fun and indulgent!! 
> 
> enjoy, your favorite characters won’t be happy forever <3 
> 
> \- Cat 
> 
> yeah we’re gonna make them SUFFER soon ^ - daniela

Jinsol Kim wakes up, like always, to the picturesque view of the glistening Pacific Ocean and the even more breathtaking sight of her sleeping wife. 

Still fast asleep, Jungeun looks heavenly under the gentle rays of the rising sun. Lips slightly parted, she’s snuggled comfortably under their thick white comforter only inches away, shoulders rhythmically rising and falling. Jinsol loves her wife’s signature fire, but especially loves when she’s perfectly serene. The blonde can’t resist tucking her hair behind her ear and planting soft kisses all over her face.

Jungeun never minds - this is her favorite way to wake up.

The brunette stirs with a calm smile. With eyes still closed, she welcomes her wife’s morning love and comes closer to her under the covers. 

Jinsol takes her favorite person into her arms, tucking her under her chin as they intertwine their limbs to enjoy each other’s warmth. Their mornings together had indefinitely become more affectionate ever since their new routine led to them waking up together.

Jungeun yawns into her chest, then mumbles something unintelligible.

“Hmm?” Jinsol asks, playing with her wife’s soft hair with closed eyes. 

“Don’t go to work,” Jungeun croaks out more clearly.

Alas, as much as the Kim family has treasured her time off, Jinsol could not stay away from work forever. This week has been her first that she’s returned to the Aquarium of the Pacific to resume her active duties as its chief executive officer. 

Jinsol just smiles as she nuzzles her wife, breathing in her comforting signature scent reminiscent of vanilla and brown sugar. “I have to,” she mumbles sleepily. “I’ll take Choerry today,” Jinsol adds, referring to their parenting initiative of alternating car trips. “You had a long night…”

Jungeun hums graciously at the offer. “...No, no I’ll do it baby. I’m scheduled.”

Jinsol’s eyes flutter open once again as she leans down to pepper more kisses on her wife’s big head. “But you’re tired…” 

“I promised Choerry I’d try her Starbucks drink this morning.” Jungeun yawns into Jinsol’s blonde hair at her neck. “We pinky promised.”

Jinsol is always in awe at how Jungeun will always put even the most trivial wants of their daughter before any of hers, especially right now, when her wife can barely get through a sentence without a yawn. “Are you sure?” 

“Mhmph,” Jungeun says groggily, “I’ll drive her.” 

Jinsol massages her wife’s back under her loose shirt. She moves to meet Jungeun’s eyes. “What’s our plan for New Year’s?” the blonde asks between them. “Since I’m off this year.” (Jinsol refuses to let work take another holiday ever again.) 

Jungeun’s heart swells with the showering of affection as Jinsol trails kisses from her temple, cheek, and nose. “You’re coming with me to Jiwoo and Sooyoung’s party. ‘Chuu Year’s Yves.’”

Jinsol breaks apart and groans dramatically, like Jungeun asked her to count the strands of her own hair instead of accompany her at Beverly Hills’ biggest, most extravagant celebration that most would kill for an invite to. 

Most, i.e., everyone but Jinsol. 

“UGHHH,” Jinsol protests dramatically, face contorting in disgust. “Not _Sooyoung-_ ” 

“Yes,” Jungeun supplements sternly, cupping her wife’s cheek calmingly while the other woman pouts. “We are going,” she yawns again into her hand. “Choerry is going too, to keep Hyejoo company.” 

Jinsol tuts again with an unnecessary eye roll. 

But when she looks back at Jungeun, head pillowed and looking lovingly back at her with those gorgeous brown eyes, Jinsol forgets any reason she ever had to complain. 

“...Fine,” Jinsol whispers delicately beside her with a smitten smile. “Only for you.” 

Jungeun crinkles her nose triumphantly, then leans into Jinsol’s kiss.

And right on cue, Jinsol’s alarm for work pings noisily through the master bedroom. 

Their lips break apart, and Jungeun looks at her wife with pleading puppy eyes. “Stay with me,” she pouts.

Jinsol smiles back at the adorable sight, then allows herself one more kiss from her wife before forcing herself up to sit up in bed. 

Jinsol rubs a hand over Jungeun’s shoulder. “I’ll be home before you know it sweetheart.”

Jungeun closes her eyes once again to relish in a bit more sleeping time. 

Before she is whisked off to dreamland once again though - “I wish we could stay in bed all day,” she fantasizes, cuddling into Jinsol’s pillow as a substitute for her soulmate, cherishing the remnants of her scent.  “Forever and ever and ever and ever…” Jungeun trails off wistfully.

The CEO smiles as she squeezes her wife’s hand from the side of their bed. “I would _love_ that,” Jinsol admits before kissing it.

But until then, it’s off to work. 

***

**tiddie jugglers**

**Choerry:** When I’m head of the EPA the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted by each individual is going to be so low that you’re only going to be able to exhale like 10 times a day

 **Choerry:** This is the future

 **Choerry:** I am the future

 **Chaewon:** wtf are you talking about

 **Yeojin:** bitch Juice WRLD is DEAD

 **Choerry:** Who is that

 **Yeojin:** A 40 MINUTE INTRO TO JUICE WRLD <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9qJ_2xplLc>

**Yeri:** i got my grade back today for the christmas art project from before break, and im about to shake my little ass to 7 rings thats how RICH im feelin🌛👡🧜🏻♀️

 **Chaewon:** you act like my mom didn’t give us all 100%

 **Yeojin:** i got a 78 the fuk 😭

 **Hyejoo:** you drew your head crowning out of beyonce’s vagina and expect ms. wong to put that up on the wall during parent teacher conferences? 

 **Yeojin** : it was CHRISTMAS themed. EVERYONE suddenly has something to say when we wanna make christmas about the nativity of the LORD

 **Choerry:** Yeojin I thought it was pretty!! :)

 **Yeojin:** nice to know that choerry is the only one with an opened third eye

 **Yeojin:** mother vivisa still the goat tho 😔✊🏼

 **Yeojin:** anyway WHAT is the move for nye im tryna pop these bottles 🤑

 **Yeri:** you cant even open your own gatorade you always ask olivia to do it for you 🥣🤸🏽🌏

 **Yeojin:** STOP USING RANDOM ASS EMOJIS

 **Yeri** : yes 🤢🦾👄

 **Yeojin** : ??????

 **Hyejoo:** i’m stuck at home because of my moms’ stupid party.

 **Yeojin:** wait isnt that the party only for billionaires and celebrities???

 **Choerry:** My moms and I are going!! :D

 **Yeri:** choerry said you all are poor! she said you are of the lower class!

 **Chaewon:** WOW how come choerry was invited and not us 

 **Hyejoo:** i didn’t even know choerry was coming.

 **Choerry:** My moms told me your mom wants me to come and keep you company :DDDD

 **Hyejoo:** actually 

 **Hyejoo:** that’s not a bad idea… if anything we can all just chill in my new game room my moms got me for christmas

 **Yeojin:** STOP your moms got you a whole ROOM for christmas? i got a shaq autobiography and pitbulls concert on DVD.

 **Choerry:** I didn’t even know Pitbull had a concert movie

 **Yeojin:** he doesnt. someone recorded pitbulls concert on their iphone and put it on a dvd and my mom purchased it for $200. 

 **Yeri:** damn have fun at the party choerry 🎮🏌🏾🏹

 **Hyejoo:** no guys, the rest of you please come too. on behalf of the ha family i cordially extend an invitation to chuu year’s yves.

 **Yeojin:** ur parents r corny as fuck

 **Choerry:** Am I not enough for you? :'(

 **Hyejoo:** no :p

 **Choerry:** :(

 **Hyejoo:** i’m jk choerry. but it’d be more fun if we were all there.

 **Choerry:** :)

 **Hyejoo:** also as you all may know last year nicki minaj came...

 **Chaewon:** BITJHSDKD HELLO ?@#$?

 **Choerry:** And Ariana?

 **Yeri:** she cant bc she’s on tour. i would know, im seeing her again next week 💆♀️💆♀️💆♀️

 **Yeojin:** thats ur fifth time this month??

 **Yeri:** and what about it ☁️💡👸🏼

 **Yeri:** anyway im coming. as ke$ha once said, the party dont start til i walk in

 **Yeojin:** about herself not you

 **Yeri:** omg stop im having war flashbacks about my dead hamster🏔🚂🚨

 **Yeojin:** RIP ke$ha the hamster. gone too soon.

 **Yeri:** BITCH YOURE THE ONE THAT KILLED HER

 **Yeojin:** ANYWAY… i think i can come bc it’s not like my mom can stop me 

 **Yeojin:** she hurt herself yesterday

 **Yeojin:** lost her grip adjusting her bra, punched herself in the fucking face and fell down the stairs 💀😂

 **Chaewon:** damn why you make all that up about your poor mom just say you dont have plans

 **Yeojin:** I’M BEING SERIOUS??? ALL MY RELATIVES ARE COMING OVER TO OUR HOUSE THIS YEAR BC HER ASS IS BRUISED SO SHE CANT MOVE AND IM SCARED… thats like 20 haseul clones...

 **Yeri:** guys i found an unopened pregnancy test earlier and when i used it i was lowkey disappointed i wasn’t. 🏷🧲💒

 **Choerry:**?!?!!?!?!?! 

 **Chaewon:** ^ ???? 

 **Hyejoo:** yeri why would you be pregnant. 

 **Chaewon:** why would you WANT to be pregnant? 😭

 **Yeri:** i want to struggle bringing a child into the world so I can look back and be like. wow.  📣🇮🇪🔱

 **Yeojin:** something is wrong with you like in ur head

 **Yeri:** omg my mom says that 🚳🤍📆

 **Chaewon:** oli i asked my mom and she said I can goooo :)))

 **Choerry:** Yay we can all go!! 😄

 **Hyejoo:** ok cool. everyone be here before 9 tmrw. that’s when the party starts.

***

It’s half past 9PM on New Year’s Eve, and the air is electric with excitement among the invitees to the world’s most exclusive and unnecessarily extravagant party of the year.

The Kim family sits on the calmer end of the spectrum. Pulling her white Tesla up to the peak of Beverly Hills to the Has’ massive private property, Jinsol had only agreed to this to accompany her beloved wife.

It didn’t hurt that they dressed lavish for the occasion. Jungeun and Jinsol both don elegant black dresses that once sported sinful price tags. Jinsol’s is backless, with her hair spilling over her shoulders in light blonde waves. And Jungeun’s hair is up, revealing dangling diamond earrings (one of many Christmas presents from her wife).

Choerry, no need to dress up considering she would be in Hyejoo’s room the whole night and away from the 21+ event, wears a soft and fuzzy purple sweater and a black denim skirt. 

A valet man in a tuxedo comes to their car window, and the trio step out of the Tesla in sync and gaze at the front of Sooyoung and Jiwoo’s massive mansion. 

Was it supposed to be a classy party? Jinsol can’t really tell, since the grandiose estate is reverberating with the force of three nightclubs in one. 

The rival CEO is also surprised to note that the Ha residence is much, _much_ bigger than it was ten years ago when she’d first visited for their Hyejoo’s third birthday. What once was a relatively large modern home has now evolved into... Something else entirely…? Several expansions to the house itself have clearly been made, making the mansion itself quadruple in size from the CEO’s last memory of it. 

Jinsol has, quite literally, never seen or even imagined _anything_ like it before. (Rumor has it that the house was self-designed by Jiwoo, in her infinite architectural prowess, and that Sooyoung barked at construction workers to make it reality no matter how far her wife’s ideas may have defied the laws of physics.)

The golden light through the windows coupled with shimmering water from their gigantic central fountain make the residence as inviting as ever. 

Over the low bass line of the music and the whistle of the night wind, Jinsol spots her nemesis. The one and only Sooyoung Ha is elegantly looking down at everyone else from the mansion’s roof with a skinny champagne glass in her hand. The fashion queen catches a glimpse of Jinsol, and even from far away the blonde swears she can see her make a sour face before retreating from the balcony, much to Jinsol’s amusement.

Jinsol walks towards the other side of her car to be with her wife and daughter, and Jungeun reaches to hold her warm hand and lace their fingers together. 

“Oh look, there’s Yeri!” their eighth grade daughter chirps, noticing her friend from school at the entrance of the mansion’s east wing doing the Renegade Tik Tok dance to catch her attention. Yeri had come down to meet her and take her up to Hyejoo’s new game room, where the rest of the gang currently is.

“Okay, I’m gonna go now,” Choerry announces, looking back up at her mothers.

Jungeun leans down a tad to kiss her child’s forehead, and Choerry is entranced by the smell of her mother’s perfume. “Be safe,” Jungeun instructs sternly. “Stay with them in the room and _don’t_ go into the party. Do not enter the west wing at all. Do not drink anything you see just laying around on your way up, do you understand me? And don’t-” 

“Okay, okay,” Jinsol laughs off her wife’s excessive instructions, putting her hands on her shoulders. She looks at their daughter. “Have fun angel, we’ll see you in a few hours okay?” 

“Okay, love you,” Choerry says, giving both her mothers a quick hug before running off to meet Yeri. They watch her until she’s safely inside, then look at each other.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Jinsol says, feigning a smile and pretending to be more excited than she actually is. 

Jungeun smiles at her in response, and together they walk toward the entrance to the Ha mansion’s west wing, hand-in-hand.

The couple walks through the excessively large doorway to an elegant golden hallway which looks something out of a Victorian movie. It leads to a grandiose ballroom that neither of them even knew the Has had in their estate. Tables covered in decadent white sheets were placed perfectly around the room as dimmed white lights illuminated the guests as clone-like waiters scurried around to serve the guests champagne and hors d'oeuvres. 

“You know with all the noise outside, I thought this would be a whole lot crazier,” the CEO admits, taking a look around at the ballroom which is playing some music, but is mostly filled with the chirps of conversation.

“WHY ARE YOU TWO IN THE BORING ROOM?” squeals the cheery voice of Jiwoo Ha as if she just knew they’d arrived. Seeing her favorite couple, she immediately runs over to greet them with a giant group hug before they can even take in the fact that she is shimmering in a gorgeous silver dress and diamonds. “You both look so beautiful!” their hostess cheers between their ears as the married couple do their best not to fall backwards.

“...We’re in the boring room?” Jungeun asks, her cheek squished against Jiwoo’s bare shoulder. The internationally famous celebrity finally releases them from her grip, and Jinsol adjusts her neck.

“Yes! This is just for the older range of guests that we invite. Ellen!” Jiwoo does a friendly wave at the TV show talk show host who is sitting near the corner of the room. The woman waves back, like they’ve been friends forever.

“So… Where are we supposed to go?” Jinsol questions.

Jiwoo looks at them like she’s about to share a dirty little secret. “Right this way, VIPs...” she whispers excitedly, taking both of their hands and dragging them to yet another hallway leading to the most giant set of double doors at the end of the golden ballroom Jinsol has ever seen in her life, like something out of a Vatican church.

“This is where the fun is happening. You’re going to love it!” Jiwoo screams with excitement as she opens the doors. 

And it feels as though the three women just entered a completely different universe.

It’s a new two-story ballroom now, but sleek and modern and _pounding_ with party music. Hundreds of guests occupy one dance floor, as some famous DJ neither Jungeun nor Jinsol recognize spins records dramatically at the front of the room. Acrobats are doing tricks on a wire that is hung above the dancing guests with no net. Why? Who knows. 

Around the dance floor, there are areas for seating, some even on the second floor balcony, where celebrities from American pop stars to the English crown were laughing and drinking free expensive drinks. Jinsol is perplexed at the absolutely random circus acts being performed at uncoordinated areas, whether it was a man eating a sword or someone stuffing themselves inside of a box. There was an open bar in the back of the room and where an exotic woman in a shiny silver bikini was holding a tiger on a leash.

“Is that a tiger?” Jungeun asks.

“Yeah I don’t even know, she came with the Cirque Du Soleil act.” Jiwoo screams over the music.

“WOO! CHUU YEARS YVES!” A regal Latina woman whoops passing by, and Jiwoo sends finger guns back at her.

“Was that _J-LO?”_ Jinsol reacts, her eyes coming out of her head.

“Yeah! My cousin-” Jiwoo replies.

 _“J-LO IS YOUR COUSIN?!”_ Jinsol shouts over the music.

“YOU DIDN’T LET ME FINISH SILLY!” Jiwoo says. “My cousin Yoojung _knows_ her! They worked together before or something I don’t know, but she’s here… And look who else is heeeere! EEE!” 

Jinsol rolls her eyes and stares into an imaginary camera as if she were on _The Office_ , already knowing the only person who could make Jiwoo more giddy than she already was.

Sooyoung Ha approaches them, the same actively twinkling drink in her hand and as ego-filled as ever. Jiwoo almost gets distracted by how dazzling Sooyoung looks tonight, her deep blue gown and lacy thin blue gloves around her hands make her look like a princess straight out of a Hollywood set.

“Jungeun!” The Korean accent comes out a little as she greets the shorter woman with a hug. She doesn’t even bother to fully look at the woman on Jungeun’s arm. “Jinsol,” she allows, her eyes somewhere else. 

“Hello S-” 

“I have to go chat with Barack and Michelle, but I’ll find you later alright?” Sooyoung cuts Jinsol off abruptly and looks at Jiwoo who nods in response, giving her wife a kiss on the cheek. Jiwoo begins chatting with Jungeun about some massive dessert she was planning to debut tonight, as Sooyoung starts walking away.

Before Sooyoung departs the trio though, she leans in to whisper to the other CEO’s ear.

“Listen up you parasite, I don’t know how you keep popping up everywhere I go, but I’m going to avoid you starting now so do not even _attempt_ to interact with me.” She finishes.

“Wh-” 

Before Jinsol can even finish her word, Sooyoung is parading away calmly, the train of her million dollar gown flowing behind her.

“Well I have to make my rounds!” Jiwoo takes Jungeun and Jinsol’s hands in her own. “But you two find a seat or hit the floor or get a drink WHATEVER YOU WANT YOU CAN HAVE. DO YOU HEAR THAT?” 

Jiwoo looks expectantly at the bartender quite a ways away and the security guard by the door who both shake their heads excessively. With that, Jiwoo smiles and reluctantly let’s go of their hands and walks away.

Jungeun turns to her wife after refusing a tray of the same sparkling purple drink she saw in Sooyoung’s hand. 

“So,” Jungeun starts. “Wanna go find some breadsticks?”

***

“BRRRATATATAT!” Chaewon screams to the tune of “Megatron” by Nicki Minaj as she shoots multiple video game civilians dead. The screen on the massive flat screen TV is split four ways; every girl except Yeri is playing a multiplayer game of _Call of Duty Infinite Warfare_.

 _“They call me Megatron, just did the telethon, he got Margiela's on, and I get my jealous on-”_ Chaewon raps as she directs her virtual soldier around to continue killing people. Hyejoo feels the vibrations of her crush rapping on her own shoulder; the tinier girl is comfortably snug up against her side under a shared fleece throw. 

Choerry stares at the giant game room TV as well in a bean bag chair, running her character around and using all her med kits on other players.

“Choerry!” their principal’s daughter scolds closeby from another bean bag chair. “Why are you healing them! They aren’t even on your team!” 

“I’m just trying to be nice!” 

“CAN YOU GO BACK TO SHOOTING THEM INSTEAD!” Hyejoo screams.

“AAAAAAAAH!” Poor Choerry spins her character 360 degrees, firing the assault rifle in all directions, but getting headshots one after another. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she says after every time she murders a virtual human. 

Yeri, in the corner, is keeping herself entertained by taking multiple pictures of Hyejoo’s new dog, Dog, and putting together an Instagram profile for the pup that really does remind her of a piece of fried chicken. 

The Ha family decided that Hyejoo’s game room would be the best place for Dog to sleep (so it wouldn’t shit on all the expensive furniture), so Hyejoo always had some form of company now whenever she would play her games or tinker with electronics. She complained at first, insisting Dog would disrupt her gaming experience, but Jiwoo had insisted. However, much to Hyejoo’s surprise, the puppy always seemed to know his limits with the girl, always staying put when the controller was in her hands. 

Now, the adorable little puppy whines and cries whenever Hyejoo is out of sight, even when she goes to the bathroom. Hyejoo isn’t supposed to, but sometimes she lets him sleep at the foot of her bed for the night, unable to stand the cries of him being so lonely in the dark. 

“Now give me SEXY,” Yeri orders Dog as she aims the iPhone camera at him. 

“Did they text you yet…” Chaewon murmurs into Hyejoo’s warm shoulder. 

Hyejoo bites her lip in nervousness; she told her mothers to text her if Nicki Minaj shows up, and they haven’t all night. “No, not yet…”

Chaewon makes a pouty noise, and Hyejoo hates that she can feel the other girl’s disappointment. The blonde yawns. “I’m gonna stop playing now, I don’t even like zombies mode,” she says as she logs her character out of the game and her corner of the screen turns black. 

“We aren’t even in zombies mode dipshit,” Yeojin snickers.

“Whatever? It’s making me carsick too.” The other SoundCloud rapper replies, clutching her stomach.

“Wait you can have a car in this game? Why have I been running this whole time?” Choerry asks, taking out another player in only one shot. “Sorry!” 

“HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU GETTING ALL THESE HEADSHOTS?!” Hyejoo shouts in frustration, having to pull the trigger more than once to kill one of her opponents.

“There are no cars Choerry. Chae is just quitting because she sucks at this game.” Yeojin says, firing her character’s weapon rapidly and in a circle until she finally hits someone. “OWNED, BITCH! THAT’S PRECISION!”

“Okay first of all, I’m pretty _and_ talented so I win all the games by default.” Chaewon responds, sitting up a little just to flip her hair.

“Someone lied to you several times,” Yeojin deadpans.

“Are you trying to fight?” Chaewon bickers, her high-pitched almost helium-like voice contrasting with Yeojin’s animalistic growl of a voice always making everything ten times more amusing in addition to the fact that they’re both under five feet tall. “We can fight right now. Right here bitch.”

“I was just saying, we were never in a car.” Yeojin defends, enjoying getting a rise out of her while she follows Choerry’s character in the video game.

“I am always in a car. Heading down a road called life.” Chaewon claps back.

 _“I aM aLwAyS iN a CaR! HeAdInG dOwN a RoAd cALLed LiFe!”_ Yeojin mocks, raising her gritty voice to the highest octave it can possibly be at. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was talking to my mom’s Pinterest board.”

“You’re just mad because you know my new song is better than yours,” Chaewon blurts randomly. 

“You have absolutely no fucking flow.”

“Not according to my seven streams so far!”

“Yeah all of those were me stupid,” Yeojin scoffs as she continues playing the video game. “Couldn’t stop laughing. You sounded like the other day during popcorn reading when you kept fucking stuttering and had to re-read the same sentence six times.” Yeri starts cackling at Yeojin’s comment, remembering how frustrating it was for the entire class to be looking at the same body of text unable to be read correctly. “I almost had to go to the nurse’s office-”

“You love to shit on the working class!” Chaewon snaps.

“Ladies, ladies,” Hyejoo says monotonously, ever-defensive of Chaewon. “Chill-” Someone in the game shoots at Hyejoo’s character, killing her and making her fourth of the screen exit from the game. She slumps aggressively on the couch, trying not to throw a tantrum.

Only Yeojin and Choerry remain, the latter focusing so hard on the screen that her tongue is sticking out.

“YES MODEL MODEL YES YOU’RE GIVING ME KIM KARDASHIAN ASS YOU’RE GIVING ME LADY GAGA INTELLIGENCE.” Yeri screams nonsensically as Dog rolls over on the floor.

“FUCK!” Yeojin screams as her character gets shot in the face. “YERI THAT WAS ALL YOUR FAULT YOU LOUD BITCH!”

Yeri flips Yeojin off, and then turns back to the animal. “Dog, we’re taking five. I’m so sorry for the behavior of my crew tonight.”

Choerry makes her character hide behind a rock, and Hyejoo rolls her eyes. “Choerry you can’t just... Hide and expect the guys to come to you that’s-”

Suddenly Choerry stands up and shoots once, immediately sending the last remaining player on the other team to the ground. **WINNER** flashes across her corner of the screen. Hyejoo’s mouth hangs open.

“That was fun! I can’t believe I’ve never played this before!” Choerry cheers, smiling innocently.

Chaewon looks at Hyejoo nervously and then hands her a pillow. Hyejoo graciously accepts it, and then shoves her face into it, screaming her. She takes the pillow down, and Chaewon rubs her shoulder.

“Cool.” Hyejoo says calmly.

Dog starts whining a little, eyes pleading while looking at Yeri.

“Olivia, can you get me some dog treats? The talent is hungry.” Yeri states, looking at the couch.

Right at that moment, Chaewon breaks away from Hyejoo’s side and flops facedown onto the floor.

“I would kill for a cupcake.” She mumbles. “Almost as much as I would kill for Nicki…”

Hyejoo lets out a deep sigh. “Alright. I’ll be back. You can pick the next game.” She says to Choerry as she stands.

“KARAOKE!” Choerry screams excitedly, and Yeojin groans as Hyejoo makes her way out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

“Wait, Olivia I’m going with you,” Yeojin steps up from her bean bag chair. “I can’t do Karaoke, I don’t want to embarrass everyone here.”

Chaewon rolls her eyes, but Yeojin ignores it. “Plus new mixtape soon, gotta rest the pipes.”

Hyejoo hums in approval, and the two girls exit the game room into the hallway. Booming party music from the west wing reaching all the way to living quarters in the east. 

Although Jiwoo had strictly instructed her daughter to stay in her room and not come out for safety purposes (even conducting hourly check-ups), Hyejoo figured she wouldn’t get in trouble for grabbing some snacks.

To her, the night has been going swimmingly so far; that may or may not be solely because her favorite tiny blonde had cuddled up to her ever since Choerry recited Malala Yousafzai’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech by heart while Yeri did vocal runs in the background.

Despite them being in an entertainment room, the Tiddie Jugglers found themselves more unentertained than they anticipated due to the longing for being downstairs at the main event. 

Hyejoo and Yeojin descend from the oversized grand foyer, the middle schoolers looking even smaller than they already are. 

“I would kill for some Pop Chips right now,” Yeojin says, a few feet in front of her bounding toward the Has’ storage room for snacks that’s the size of a standard college dorm room.

“No, Chae likes gummy bears,” Hyejoo declares. 

“You _would_ get what she wants,” Yeojin snickers over the bass of the party music both girls can physically feel. 

“Shut the fuck up!” Hyejoo exclaims, turning red.

“Why do you even like her,” Yeojin chortles teasingly.

Hyejoo is silent as they reach the final stairs.

“Well?” Yeojin half-turns to meet the eyes of her classmate, who just looks away nervously. 

“...I think she’s like.. a real life princess.” Hyejoo answers awkwardly, the sweet words sounding unusual as they spill off the eighth grader’s normally sharp tongue. 

“BARF! BARF BARF BARF,” Yeojin makes a disgusted expression and more gagging noises as she runs off towards the snack room.

The kitchen is straight ahead, but the music from the party calls her attention as she peeks down the corridor to catch the closest glimpse she’s ever had in person to her mothers’ annual Chuu Year’s Yves party.

The eighth grader doesn’t see much at the entrance to the west wing, but she does see a server stand with a circular tray in one hand supporting a pyramid of croissants and other expensive bread. 

In front of him is someone, a young Asian teenage girl with athletic build, taking multiple and… Piling them into a tupperware? And she looks awfully familiar...

 _Wait a second-_ “Hyunjin?” Hyejoo asks to herself, nearing her babysitter and puzzled. The highschooler looks insanely out of place, as she dons a simple gray hoodie and jeans as opposed to designer outfit like everyone else.

Yeojin comes toward her with a tub of gummy bears from the snack room, but Hyejoo tells her to go ahead and that she’ll meet her back upstairs.

The raven-haired eighth grader toes the line of her house’s west wing. 

“HYEJOO!” Hyunjin yells in excitement, making the croissants server wince. She sets the tupperware down, a few croissants still being juggled in her arms.

“Olivia.” Hyejoo corrects sharply.

“My baby!” the bright babysitter rushes over. “How are you my widdle eighth grade emo angel from hell,” Hyunjin lowers her hand to pinch Hyejoo’s cheeks but her hand is immediately slapped away.

“What are you doing here Hyunjin?” Hyejoo asks in a dry voice.

“Oh, your moms invited me to Chuu Year’s Yves this year! Can you believe it?! But I just came for these _bomb_ croissants! Your mom got me them from Paris for my birthday last year and she said she’d have them here. You know, I’ve never had bread _this_ good-”

“Hyunjin?!” Speaking of Jiwoo, the celebrity has suddenly materialized at the pair’s side. “You’re here!” The bubbly woman smiles warmly as she embraces Hyunjin in a tight hug, as if they were childhood friends as opposed to a rich woman and her teenage employee. “Hyejoo, I thought I told you to stay inside your room,” she scolds lightly.

“Oh I know, I just wanted to say hi to Hyunjin-”

“REALLY?” Hyunjin swoons even louder than the loud party music. “You did?”

“...Anyways, I was just gonna get some snacks for Choerry and them upstairs.”

Jiwoo redirects her attention to Hyunjin. “Hyunjin you should stay for the whole thing!” she offers; despite the party being highly elite there is not a single condescending aspect in Jiwoo’s tone as she offers out of genuine loving kindness.

“Oh thank you so much Mrs. Ha, but I actually have to get back in time for a high school party.” Hyunjin says with a gracious smile. 

 _A high school party?_ Hyejoo’s eyes widen.

“OoOoh! So exciting!” Jiwoo chirps, and the woman looks more excited than Hyunjin does. Hyunjin, behind her enthusiastic facade, looks a bit… apprehensive? “I miss high school parties! I used to spider crawl on the ceiling, you know. You can’t do that anymore. The political climate, it’s all messed up,” Jiwoo says with her hands in the air. 

Suddenly, a lightbulb turns on inside Hyejoo’s head. 

“I just need to get my jacket from the coat check!” Hyunjin continues.

 _An actual fun party…_ Hyejoo thinks to herself. She hated the fact that the girls were getting bored in her room. But she’s decided to change that.

“You know what!” Hyejoo offers suddenly, in the most enthusiastic tone she’s used all month. “Why don’t I go get that for you Hyunjin!” 

Even Jiwoo looks surprised at her daughter’s very uncharacteristic altruism. Hyejoo fights the urge to stammer as the two older figures look at her in confusion. “There’s probably going to be a long coat check line anyway, you’ll never get to your party on time. I can just get it for you quick!” 

“Wow, thanks Hyejoo!” Hyunjin gasps suddenly with a big smile, handing Hyejoo her coat ticket. “Does that mean we’re _besties_ now!?” she quickly tacks on with a wink.

“...Haha!” Hyejoo throws up finger guns as she walks backwards into the party towards the coat room with the identifying slip of paper. “I’ll be right back!” 

“Go back to your room straight after!” Jiwoo calls to her child who is vanishing into the crowd of well-dressed people. The hostess looks back at Hyunjin with a big smile. “Ugh, she is such a great kid.” 

“I know, she’s a little sweetie,” Hyunjin indulges Jiwoo, disregarding the fact that she knows Hyejoo was suspended from school for nearly putting her entire PE class in a dodgeball-induced coma.

“Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying the croissants,” Jiwoo giggles, noting the many still piled in Hyunjin’s arms and the tupperware on the floor. “Take as many as you want!” she reassures lovingly, not at all minding Hyunjin’s making the most of the party favors. “We actually have another truck full in the back so you can-”

Jiwoo is interrupted by another member of her staff tapping her exposed shoulder gently, then whispering something in her ear.

Jiwoo’s nostrils flare. _“What do you mean the cake is falling down.”_   

Hyunjin’s eyes widen as the staff member continues to whisper in her ear. 

Jiwoo very briefly squeezes the bridge of her nose before taking a deep sigh. “I have to do everything in this house,” she mutters. “Excuse me Hyunjin, I have to go deal with a confectionary emergency.”

“Oh no problem!” 

Jiwoo smiles once more with a “Happy Chuu Year’s!” before taking off.

As the happy pill celebrity walks stressfully (borderline jogs) through the central ballroom, past Rihanna and who she thinks she recognizes as former President George W. Bush, she is stopped by a familiar pair of gentle hands on her shoulders.

“Hey hey,” It’s Sooyoung, looking down at her sweetheart with a concerned expression. “Jiwoo, what’s the problem?”

Jiwoo sighs. “The main cake, it might fall down. I have to balance it,” she explains hastily.

Sooyoung’s eyebrows shoot up. “The 15 foot tall cake?” she asks, to which her wife nods. “Is there anything I can do to help?” the CEO offers kindly. 

“NO. NO ONE IS TOUCHING THAT CAKE BUT ME.” Jiwoo growls abruptly. Sooyoung stares at her with widened eyes. “But thank you for offering honey,” Jiwoo smiles sweetly. 

“But I think there is something you can help with... Can you check on Hyejoo at 11:00? And every hour after that until the party ends? I actually haven’t been able to do my hourly check-ups on her because of how crazy everything’s been, but this specifically is really going to take me a while…” Jiwoo trails off.

“Of course,” Sooyoung smiles understandingly, yet there’s a hint of nervousness on her face. Of course, she’s also not completely processing the commitment she’s agreeing to anyway. “Now go fix our cake. Don’t fall in.” 

“I won’t,” Jiwoo giggles and pecks her wife’s lips before taking off once again.  

Sooyoung turns around, and gets lost in the crowd with another sip of champagne.

***

Hyejoo stumbles into the empty coat room nervously as music thumps through the walls, Hyunjin’s ticket in hand. _Are you really about to do this? Are you really about to do this right now?_

Usually, Hyejoo would never take her chaotic antics this far. Especially on New Year’s Eve, when her mother usually came in to check on her every hour. But this time, she had barely seen her mothers around at all.

Actually, she hadn’t really seen her taller and more terrifying mother much since Christmas. It was like her mom had finally stopped being unnecessarily resentful toward her, but still didn’t know how to communicate even if only to ask how her day was. So, the child noticed that Sooyoung had practically returned to how she acted before she joined the St. Jihyo’s PTA in the first place, which was avoiding her daughter altogether instead.

And Hyejoo kind of needed an escape for herself too, if she was being honest.

The raven-haired eighth grader quickly identifies Hyunjin’s beige coat labelled with the corresponding number on the ticket. She rustles through the pockets until her fingers hit the car keys, which she pulls out. 

Hyejoo calls Yeojin on her iPhone.

Her friend picks up on the second ring. _“Hey Skrillex, what’s taking you so long?”_ Yeojin’s gritty little voice comes through. _“Chaewon is about to perform ‘12 Days of Christmas’ by Destiny's Child and I know Yeri is gonna join in. She’s putting her hair up.”_

“I have a crazy idea,” Hyejoo plays with her babysitter’s car keys nervously in her hands. “Do you guys wanna go to a party?”

 _“You mean the one downstairs? Bitch, I’ve been asking you all damn night I-”_  

“No,” Hyejoo cuts Yeojin off. “A _high school_ party.” 

 _“A HIGH SCHOOL PARTY?”_ Yeri shouts, interrupting the start of the other girls’ performance. Hyejoo hears the other girls come towards the phone as well, their interests piqued.

 _“Oh my gosh, I want to go to a high school party!”_ she hears Chaewon say into the phone, and Hyejoo can practically see stars dancing in her pretty eyes.

“Yeah,” Hyejoo replies. She isn’t normally this mischievous, but tonight was uneventful, and the pre-teen was feeling adventurous. “I can get us into a _real_ high school party.” Her quiet voice echoes through the empty coat room.

The other St. Jihyo’s students all yell variations of middle school excitement.

“Okay girlies,” Hyejoo starts, feeling impulsively badass and in turn not thinking any of this through at all. But that doesn’t matter - Chaewon isn’t going to be bored anymore, and they’re going to have a New Year’s Eve to remember. “Are you ready for the plan?”

Thrilled, high-pitched cheers ring through the phone’s speakers, and Hyejoo smiles excitedly. 

“Okay listen,” her tone turns serious. If she wants to pull this off, they need to sneak into Hyunjin’s car before she gets there. “I need you all to be at my babysitter’s car in no more than two minutes. It’s not down the hill where the guest cars are, it’s the yellow punch buggy in right in front of the main fountain. TWO minutes, capeesh?”

 _“Got it!”_ They all say at the end of the line, before Hyejoo hears some rustling of belongings and Yeojin cuts the line. 

Hyejoo stuffs Hyunjin’s car keys into her pocket with the coat in hand, and instead of going in her babysitter’s direction to return the coat, she bolts straight in the direction of the car.

***

Choerry can’t _not_ ask her moms for permission. 

For a hot minute, with adrenaline coursing through her veins, she felt like a new person - but sneaking out just isn’t in the student body president’s blood.

 _“Goodie goodie… But, respect,”_ Yeojin teased when the student body president diverged paths insisting on asking her mothers first, saying she’ll meet them outside.

So Choerry races through Hyejoo’s moms’ no-kids-allowed New Year’s Eve party looking for her mothers, nearly getting lost in the giant house while doing so. From the top of an entirely different grand foyer, she is able to spot Jinsol alone near one corner of the colorfully lit party ballroom.

The pounding music nearly makes her deaf on the way, but pushing past many well-dressed adults, she runs up to her blonde mother out of breath.

“Choerry?” Jinsol notices her daughter approaching immediately with furrowed eyebrows. “You shouldn’t be out here, where are your friends?” she questions, the CEO’s maternal instincts immediately kicking in.

“Where’s mommy?”

“She’s in the bathroom- Is something wrong?”

“Can I go with Yeojin and them to a high school party nearby? We’re going in Hyejoo’s babysitter’s car,” Choerry asks, out of breath. She usually asks her other mother for permission for these types of things, but she’s got no time to waste now.

Jinsol’s eyes narrow as she looks down at her daughter. “Isn’t Yeojin the gnome who keeps disrespecting me?” Choerry stifles a giggle. “And I forgot to tell you! At the bake sale your little friend Chaewon made fun of my hair.”

Choerry gasps. “Oh no! What!? What did she say?” 

Jinsol narrows her eyes even more, looking off into the distance bitterly. “She said it was fried,” she grumbles.

“Well she’s not wrong.” Choerry says plainly, shocking her blonde mother. 

 _“Choerry!?_ You’re supposed to be on my side-”

“Can I go to the party?” Choerry asks rapidly, immediately changing the subject. She senses her mother’s hesitation and quickly adds “We’ll stay together! We’ll be back before this party is over,” despite the fact that Choerry has no idea when this party is supposed to end or where it even is. But Hyejoo must have it all figured out, right?

Jinsol still looks hesitant, so Choerry sticks out her bottom lip and turns on her puppy eyes. And it’s really hard to say no to those, especially since for years, she never had to. 

“Promise me you’ll answer your phone.” Jinsol says seriously. “And text me when you get the-”

“YAY! Thank you! I love you!” Choerry squeals all in the same breath, hugs Jinsol quickly, then darts away before Jinsol can even blink.

***

Hyejoo sees Hyunjin’s yellow buggy from the window she stands by, and no signs of her friends yet. The eighth grader points the car keys towards the vehicle and watches as the lights flash, indicating that its doors have been unlocked.

She tucks the keys back into the coat pocket, then runs back in Hyunjin’s direction and tries not to look too suspicious in the process.

She finally sees her again, standing in the same place but now with more croissants. Hyunjin meets her eyes and smiles upon seeing the coat in the younger child’s arms.

“Hey! Sorry it took so long, haha!” Hyejoo smiles unnaturally, handing over the coat. “Alright! I need to get back to my room now!”

“Thank you my little pet!” Hyunjin cheers and Hyejoo cringes internally. “Well I hope you have a great rest of your winter break!” Hyunjin says, but Hyejoo is already turning the corner from which she initially came.

***

Hyejoo bursts out of the mansion with nothing but her now dead iPhone and an inexplicable amount of confidence. As she bolts out the front door of the east wing, she runs across the cobblestones past the central fountain aglow, spraying luminescent water rhythmically up to the sky. She sees Hyunjin’s yellow punch buggy, and her four friends are now standing by it. 

Before any of them can say anything to her, Hyejoo unlocks the car. “Get in, get in get in get in NOW,” Hyejoo whisper-screams.

“What?” they ask, bewildered.

_“GET IN BEFORE SHE SEES YOU!”_

“WHAT?!?” The other kids ask, now scrambling to throw themselves in the backseat. 

“I thought you said your babysitter was driving us!” Choerry shrieks.

“I said she would drive us, I didn’t say she would know!” Hyejoo snaps back in a panic. “Get the fuck in the car!” 

“THERE ARE ONLY TWO SEATS IN THE BACK GENIUS, SO WHAT NOW?” Yeojin cries.

“THREE OF US ARE GOING TO SQUISH IN THE BACK. ONE IS GOING TO LAY DOWN ON THE FLOOR. ONE IS GOING IN THE TRUNK.” Hyejoo hisses, suddenly resembling her executive mother barking orders at her subordinates. 

“Fuck it, Yeri in the trunk,” Yeri says, opening the trunk and jumping in causing the car to bounce up and down. She closes the trunk from the inside with no objections.

Choerry has a look of terror on her face. What is this? _Sneaking out?!_ She’s never even done such a thing, even when her beloved boyfriend would beg her to. But Chaewon nudges her, so she hesitantly gets into the car; it’s not like she has any other choice at this very moment. Chaewon scrambles into the back seat after her ending up in the middle, Hyejoo sliding in next to her, boosted slightly on top of a bag of cat food. Yeojin attempts to sit on the tiny sliver of seat left, but cannot manage to fit with the door closing.

“YEOJIN JUST GET ON THE FLOOR.” Hyejoo shouts.

“Olivia you know I love Lil Jon but are you really going to make me _Get Low_ like this?!” Yeojin hisses angrily. 

“FUCK FUCK FUCK, SHE’S COMING I SEE HER IN THE WINDOW!” Hyejoo’s heart beats in her throat as she grabs Yeojin by the collar and throws her little body down to their feet, closing the car door soon after. 

Hyunjin stands by the mansion door putting on her coat, just in time as the automatic lights inside her car dim to black. 

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck _FUCK,”_ Yeojin whispers from the floor in the pitch black darkness.

“SHHH! SHUT UP!” Chaewon spits fervidly. 

“Everyone needs to be completely fucking still and not say _a word._ She won’t see us when she gets in because of the dark,” Hyejoo hisses. “She’s fucking blind. Like literally, I think she stares into the sun or something.”

“AND YOU’RE GONNA LET HER DRIVE-” Yeojin screams hysterically, only for Hyejoo to pick the bag of cat food up from under her and slam it in Yeojin’s face. The car shakes a little from the outside, and Hyunjin nears the vehicle but doesn’t seem to notice any of the chaos happening within.

“What about the party?!?” Chaewon’s little voice pierces through the darkness.

“She’s going to the party, and _we’re_ going to the party, she just can’t know we’re in the car!” Hyejoo whispers.

 _“We have to be quiet for the whole ride?!”_ Yeojin asks in disbelief.

“We don’t even have seatbelts…” Choerry says quietly, panicking at the situation’s disarray. 

“How are we gonna get home?!” Chaewon whispers looking at Hyejoo, asking the most important question of the night that all of them had neglected to think of. Hyejoo looks back at her and just stammers.

“She’s right there oh my _God,”_ Choerry gasps, and she panics even more when she sees herself in the mirror. She then pushes Chaewon to her right, who pushes Hyejoo to her right, whose head is now pressed against the door. The three girls are now leaned like dominos and uncomfortable, but out of sight from Hyunjin’s mirrors.

Those are the last noises out of the gang before Hyunjin walks up to her car’s front door with her eyes on her Twitter feed. Locking her phone and dropping it into her coat pocket, she opens the driver’s door and slides into the seat, completely unaware of the five kids behind her. 

“Oh my god,” Choerry mouths with wide eyes as the other girls stare at Hyunjin’s back in horror.

The five girls don’t even breathe as Hyunjin throws tupperware full of croissants into the passenger’s seat and closes the car door. She lets out a long sigh.

The high school student starts up her little yellow car, and none of the eighth graders can even believe this is happening.

***

Around thirty minutes has passed since Hyunjin began driving out of the Ha residence. How she still hasn’t noticed five stowaway eighth graders behind her, the group has no idea.

With the three in the backseat leaned on each other, and Yeojin excessively attempting to communicate in her own version of American sign language while laying on the dirty car floor, the eighth graders (save Yeri in the trunk) couldn’t even entertain themselves with their phones without the danger of being discovered. Choerry worries painfully at the thought of both of her mothers texting her. 

Hyejoo never said anything about the destination being far… But let’s face it, the girls were too afraid to have the luxury of boredom at the moment. 

At least Hyunjin turned on the music, the radio’s noisy Top 40 hits concealing the sounds of breathing in the back. Yeojin, physically incapable of being silent, would really push their luck sometimes by trying to make the three girls above her laugh - like when she loudly whispered “Pee pee” and Choerry had to cover her mouth as she let out an insuppressible snort. Hyunjin, deaf as a post, somehow didn’t hear it. Maybe she was just lost in her own head.

The kids snap their mouths shut though when Hyunjin suddenly turns off the car radio, the only sounds being the hum of the car and the whizzing of the cars beside them. 

Hyejoo glances at Chaewon in confusion, the red light from a traffic post lighting up their faces. Choerry, who’s angled enough to see Hyunjin, sees that the high school girl is connecting an aux cord to her iPhone to play her own music. 

When the first noises of Hyunjin’s selected song roll through like fog, Hyejoo recognizes them. 

Searing low chords of a sun rising, a building chorus heard from underwater, the hypnotic percussion that is soon to follow - the eighth grader knows this one from saddening meltdowns she’s had pining over Chaewon.

It’s “Ribs”, by Lorde.

 _“The drink... you... spilt all over me...”_ the car speakers slowly sing, a much more somber tone than anything out of Top 40 cacaphony. 

 _“‘Lover’s Spit’ left on repeat,”_ Hyunjin joins in and sings along quieter and more serious than Hyejoo has ever, ever heard her. The older girl sings along to this song like its second-nature - and it clearly is as she proves to know every word.

What a sad song to know like the back of your hand. 

Maybe they do have something in common after all, Hyejoo thinks to herself.

Hyunjin drives slow through empty suburbian streets, singing along softly to the nostalgia as the beat picks up but the sunken tone remains. 

The high schooler is completely entrenched in the melancholic melody, and the stowaways stare attentively at her in the darkness, each child as if trying to piece together the story behind the emptiness in the babysitter’s voice. 

_“This dream isn’t feelin’ sweet... We’re reeling through the midnight streets... And I’ve never felt more alone, it feels so scary, getting old...”_

The kids, packed together like sardines in the backseat, feel Hyunjin’s sadness diffuse through the air. The atmosphere is polar opposite to the euphoria from the togetherness of when they sang "Super Bass" in Mrs. Kim’s car. 

Choerry, from her angle, is able to catch a glimpse of defeated Hyunjin at the wheel.

Choerry doesn’t know her, but her heart aches for her.

“Ribs” begins to speed up, and Hyunjin unexpectedly cranks her car stereo volume up as the song crescendos into desperation.

 _“I want ‘em back! I want ‘em back! The minds we had! The minds we had! How all the thoughts, how all the thoughts, moved ‘round our heads-”_ Hyunjin calls out into the glass of her windshield painfully. _“I want ‘em back! I want ‘em back! The minds we had! The minds we had! It’s not enough to feel the lack, I want 'em back I want 'em back, I WANT ‘EM!”_

 _“YOU’RE THE ONLY FRIEND I NEED!”_ Hyunjin suddenly shouts at the top of her lungs. For the first time Hyejoo has ever heard, Hyunjin’s voice goes weak.

The babysitter is no longer singing along, and the kids hear a sniffle and a shaky breath from the driver’s seat. 

 

 _“We’ll laugh until our ribs get tough,”_ the last words ring out from the speakers; Hyunjin has long since stopped singing. _“But that will never be enough.”_

The car stereo falls quiet.

Hyunjin reaches desperately for unused Starbucks napkins in the door pocket to wipe at her red face.

No one knows how to respond.

But one of the St. Jihyo’s eighth graders, bewitched by the cinematic haze that was Hyejoo’s babysitter singing/crying to ‘Ribs’ by Lorde, has forgotten she isn’t even supposed to say anything.

“Damn, who hurt you?” Yeojin looks up at Hyunjin in the rear-view mirror and asks abruptly, her gritty voice piercing through the car silence. 

Hyejoo, Chaewon, and Choerry’s eyes all nearly bulge out of their sockets.

Hyunjin’s heart stops as she looks up into the rear-view mirror to see two beady little eyes staring at her in the darkness.

Yeojin’s blown their cover.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Hyunjin screams in horror as she swerves the car violently, the yellow punch buggy veering off the road. Everyone is screaming as they bang around the backseat. Yeri rolls and thuds around screaming “WEEEEEEEEEE!” in the trunk.

The car eventually comes to stop at the side of the road, but Hyunjin is still screaming. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” She hits all the lights to illuminate the back seat to reveal three completely unfamiliar eighth graders and… _Hyejoo?_ _“WHAT_ ARE YOU DOING IN MY CAR?!!” Hyunjin yells at them, still terrified. “GET OUT! GET OUT GET OUT!” 

The four in her backseat, scared and not knowing what else to do in this moment having been caught, obey her orders and scramble out of the car. Hyunjin, too, gets out of her car and slams the door in complete disbelief. The whole time she’s been driving, there were _four_ other people in the car with her?!

Manic giggling ensues from the trunk of her car. 

 _Five?!?!_ “IS SOMEONE IN MY TRUNK?!” 

Hyunjin opens it to find Yeri in the middle of one of her high-pitched giggle fits. “I was gonna stick my hand out of the taillight and wave it around,” Yeri says. “Like in the Halle Berry 911 operator movie.” 

“What is this. WHAT is this.” Hyunjin’s hands come to her head. “Hyejoo _what_ do you think you’re doing?”

The four kids are standing near her in the cold at the side of the road, all silent. Chaewon clings to Hyejoo’s arm for warmth.

“Olivia,” Hyejoo corrects Hyunjin quietly.

“WHY WERE YOU IN MY CAR!” 

“Well… Um… We,” Hyejoo tries. “...You said you were going to a party.” 

Hyunjin narrows her eyes in disbelief. “So you and your four friends _broke into my car?!”_ No response. “Great, now I have to drive you all back to Beverly Hills and I’m going to miss the countdown _and_ Ryujin’s party-”

“Or you could just take us to the party,” Hyejoo interrupts.

Hyunjin scoffs as more cars whiz by them on the side of the road. “I’m not going to do that.” Hyunjin can’t possibly subject herself to being responsible for five younger children at Ryujin’s New Year’s Eve party.

“We have parental permission!” Choerry adds with an awkward smile. 

“From _all_ your parents?” Hyunjin asks.

“Who’s Ryujin?” Yeojin asks, catching Hyunjin off guard. 

“Wha- What are you talking about?” Hyunjin’s nostrils flare.

“You said Ryujin’s party.” Yeojin says matter-of-factly. “Is that the girl that fucked you up?”

Yeri lifts her head out of the trunk. “You were really going through it in the car honey. Could hear that shit from the back.” 

“That’s- That’s not important,” Hyunjin shakes her head, feeling embarrassed and exposed. “Who _are_ you people? I don’t even _know_ you!” 

“I’m Choerry,” the tallest, most-behaved girl says with a smile.

“Minaj comma Go Won,” Chaewon says in her soft voice from under Hyejoo’s jacket.

 _“Minaj?”_ Hyunjin asks.

“That is my family name, yes.” 

“Aphrodite,” Yeri says with a straight face, while Hyejoo suppresses her own laughter.

“Like the Greek goddess?” Hyunjin raises an eyebrow.

“Not like the Greek goddess. I _am_ the Greek goddess.”

The last unknown girl, the shortest who gave them all in the way in the car, says “I’m Yeo…” Yeojin trails off.

Nobody finishes for her. Hyunjin’s eyebrows crinkle. “Yeo… what?” 

“Yeo MOM!” Yeojin says, while everyone but Hyunjin busts out into laughter.

“Choerry, Chae, Yeri, Yeojin,” Hyejoo clarifies, pointing to her friends in order.

“What are you talking about Olivia, that’s _not_ my name,” Yeri growls through grit teeth. 

“Okay… kids,” Hyunjin runs a hand over her face. 

“Who were you singing about?” Chaewon asks again nosily. 

“Yeah, tell us Hyunjin,” Hyejoo supports. 

Hyunjin suddenly doesn’t want to make eye contact. “She’s- They’re- Oh God I am NOT talking about this with a bunch of eighth graders on the side on the road.” 

But the five of them look at her expectantly, and she feels pressured to give them something.

“People… They used to be my friends. But then… JUST- UGH just… You should never trust anyone. NO ONE!” Hyunjin preaches ominously.

“Not even yourself…” Hyejoo jokes, but Choerry slaps her arm. 

Suddenly, Yeojin’s phone buzzes to the beat of “Shots” by LMFAO and a photo of what appears to be Yeojin walking in on Haseul in a St. Jihyo’s bathroom stall as the caller ID.

“SHIT EVERYONE SHUT UP.” Yeojin screams, looking at all of them with fear in her eyes.

When she thinks it’s quiet enough, Yeojin slides the green button across the screen. “Good afternoon Mother.”

The kids groan, and even Hyunjin cringes a little bit at Yeojin’s greeting.

 _“Hi sweetie! What are you up to? Always wondering about you crazy kids!”_ Haseul’s dorky older woman voice can be heard from the other end of the line. 

Yeojin paces back and forth. “Haha hey. Haha you know we… we out here…” Yeojin struggles, and Yeri facepalms from a distance.

 _“Oh! You went outside? I thought the party was inside!”_ Haseul says.

“NO. I’M HERE. INSIDE. I AM INSIDE A HOUSE.” Yeojin chokes out.

 _“...Well that’s good. Proud of you!”_ Haseul responds, not catching on to her daughter’s nervousness.

“Haha yeah well did you call for something or?” Yeojin scratches her head.

 _“I just wanted to call you now and say Happy New Year because Grandma was about to take out the 2000 piece puzzle and you know how intense this place can get! Especially all the Jo’s are together!”_ Haseul chuckles.

Intense was definitely not the word Yeojin thought of: it was the most boring part of every single one of her holidays. 

“Okay, well-” 

 _“Also I just miss you. It’s not the same without you here!”_ Haseul says endearingly.

Yeojin blushes and looks back at her friends, who are smirking to see what her response will be.

“... I miss you too, okay I gotta go.” Yeojin whispers while turning away.

A truck honking suddenly approaches, blaring past the girls on the road.

 _“What was that?”_ Haseul questions.

“THE BUTLER. HAPPY NEW YEAR BYE LOVE YOU.” Yeojin hangs up the phone immediately. She walks back towards the other girls.

“You miss your mommy?” Hyejoo mocks. 

Yeojin hits her in response and then turns her attention to Hyunjin. “Okay ANYWAY, back to you and this party. Why are you going if you hate Ryujin?” 

“Yeah, especially if she hurt you so bad?” Choerry asks innocently.

Hyunjin scoffs, hands shoved in her coat pockets. “I’m not really interested in partying. I just wanted to call the cops on them.” 

“Oooh, revenge,” Yeri says. “You could make their night worse by being there.” 

“That would make _my_ night worse, I’ll be the one there all alone,” Hyunjin rejects, and the very thought of being in the presence of both Ryujin and Heejin for the first time in months makes her uncomfortable.

“No, you’ll have us,” Hyejoo asserts. 

 _“NO?_ Plus, you’re all babies.” Hyunjin rejects again.

“Well, if you turn back now you’ll waste too much time.” Yeojin says. It’s not really true, but none of her friends object because they all just want to see what this damn party is all about.

“Isn’t there someone your age who can go with you?” 

“Well,” Hyunjin cocks her head with wide eyes, and looks on the verge of a mental breakdown. “They kind of ruined my social life, and now I don’t have any friends, HAHA-” 

“Ooh Lord…” Chaewon judges a little too loudly. 

“There’s gotta be someone out there who can help,” Choerry says with a sympathetic expression.

“Well,” Hyunjin shifts uncomfortably, not really wanting to resort to the last option going through her head, but she doesn’t really have a choice. “There is… Someone…” 

***

“Oh my God, are these your siblings!?” Lia, cheerleading captain of Dalla High asks, playing with her ponytail looking down at the diverse middle school girls on the couch in front of her. None of them look remotely alike. 

“No, they’re-” Hyunjin doesn’t even know what to call the five girls on her couch. “It’s complicated.”

“Hyunjin I know how foster care works.” Lia says nonsensically.

The eighth graders sitting on Hyunjin’s living room couch, listening to the vibrations of music coming from the neighboring house that they assume to be this “Ryujin”’s. They look up at the two high schoolers in front of them. 

Lia’s wearing a gold sequin spaghetti strap crop top with a skirt to match. Her eyeshadow dazzles in perfect harmony with her outfit and the kids have to squint every time they look at her. 

“You’re like, really pretty.” Yeri says, more as an observation rather than a compliment.

“Oh my God thank you. I love the fans!” Lia says smiling brightly at her.

“You have fans?” Yeri questions, curious now. 

“Of course, I mean, I just know _so_ many celebs on social media. It’s kind of crazy really, they mostly know me just because they think I’m pretty or whatever. But I’m using it to my advantage to gain popularity because I just know I’m going to get my big break soon. My voice? Five star range. I’m the next Ariana Grande. Even though there is no _real_ next Ariana Grande because she’s an icon for the ages.” Lia finishes nonchalantly.

Yeri is stunned, staring at the older girl in a daze of her own. “I think I want to be you when I grow up.” 

“Aw! Haha like a little me!” Lia’s smile falters. “Well not like a little me because no one could really be anything like me, more like a… like an off-brand but still great quality me. Actually-”

“OKAY I need to explain the PLAN!” Hyunjin shouts, cutting Lia off who just shrugs and nods in return.

Hyunjin had changed out of her sweats and into an offwhite long sleeve crop top with black jeans and boots, only a loose black string choker around her neck to accessorize. 

Hyejoo has to admit, she didn’t know her babysitter could wear anything remotely revealing since most of her time is spent in a fursuit.  

“Listen to me,” Hyunjin attempts at being strict, even though it is _so_ out of her nature. “You are all going to _stay_ on this couch while Lia and I are next door. We’re gonna check it out, and maybe burn the house down-”

“Oh my god I’ve always wanted to dabble in being an anti-christ!” Lia squeals.

“...You mean arsonist?” Choerry corrects while squinting, a little concerned.

“FOCUS!” Hyunjin shouts again, making every girl wince. “We’re gonna check it out, then I’ll come back to drive you guys home. Do _NOT_ follow us into the party! Everyone got that?”

The five girls all nod.

 

Not even five minutes after Hyunjin and Lia step out of the house, the kids are out on the lawn, walking over to the loud residence next door.

High schoolers are lounging around the outside of the house, some of them smoking and others just talking. Laughter can be heard coming from inside as well as some of the Top 40 hits the group heard in the car.

Hyejoo gulps. This was a little more intimidating than she had originally expected. She looks over at her friends that are waiting for her.

“Are we going?” Chaewon asks.

“It looks like a lot.” Choerry says, beginning to play with the ends of her fuzzy sweater in nervousness.

“BOOO, stop being babies.” Yeojin says, but even she seems a little nervous.

“Um-” Hyejoo is cut off by Yeri strutting in front of them, not a stall in her step.

“Come on, we just have to pretend like we’re in high school. I mean it’s not like it’s hard.” She says flipping her hair. “Just act like you know everything but nothing at the same time.” 

“What?” Hyejoo says, but Yeri is already making her way up the steps. Hyejoo looks at her friends and shrugs, following and the rest of the girls do the same.

When they enter the party, the girls have to stop and look around. Teenagers with red cups are scattered among the wooden interior of the household. The once muffled music is now hitting the middle schooler’s ears with clarity as the door closes behind them. The kids shuffle to the side of the house in order to take it all in.

Groups of unfamiliar teenagers are gathered together and participating in different conversations in opposite areas of the residence. One group of kids can be seen in the kitchen, chugging beers with an audience to impress. Another group are off in the living room dancing ridiculously. A few teenagers are making out with each other along the staircase to the second floor.

A girl who seems to be important is wearing ripped jeans and a silky blue button up is making her way down the steps, her hair freshly dyed pink with a drink in hand. Her other hand is interlocked with another girl sporting leather pants and a white sweater.

If Hyejoo’s not mistaken, she can recognize one of them as the waitress from Heart Shaker’s… what was her name again? Heejin?

“They’re dying hair in the bathroom if anyone else wants to look this good!” The girl with pink hair screams, eliciting various whoops and hollers from the party-goers. She plops down on the steps, pulling Heejin down with her, giggling.

“Bye.” Yeri says, immediately running up the stairs, her blonde hair bouncing with every step. Irene had surprisingly let Yeri keep the color, but said her punishment was letting the roots grow out all the way no matter how bad it looked.

Suddenly, a new song comes on over the speakers. 

_“All you ladies pop your pussy like this.”_

“FUUUUUUUUCK! FUCK! PERIOD!” Yeojin shouts along with every other teen in the room, and the extremely short eighth grader immediately meshes with a large group of dancing high schoolers. _“SHAKE YOUR BODY DON’T STOP DON’T MISS!”_

“And then there were three.” Hyejoo says, looking at the Choerry who looks like she’s about to pass out. “Are you good?” she asks her, a little concerned.

Choerry immediately tries to stop playing with her hands. “What? Yeah, I’m fine, yup yup.” She says, looking up at the other girl. 

“Okay…” 

“Why is everyone here kind of hot.” Chaewon says, causing Hyejoo to lose interest in Choerry completely.

“What?” Hyejoo says, her stomach dropping to the floor.

“Wow.” Chaewon says, her mouth basically hanging open as a group of attractive older girls walk past them. Hyejoo can roughly make out one of the girls asking her friend if she thinks she should run for prom queen this year.

Hyejoo is suddenly very self conscious in one of her many black hoodies. Chaewon is staring at them in awe and it’s as if Hyejoo isn’t even there. How was she supposed to compare to these teenagers? Even when she entered high school herself, she definitely didn’t see herself being prom queen anytime soon.

“I’m just saying there are some really good looking people here… high school seems fun.” She says, smiling as she looks through a crowd of people, unaware of Hyejoo’s sudden change in mood.

She freezes when she sees someone approaching behind Hyejoo.

“Oh shit guys hide, again!” Chaewon whispers, pulling Hyejoo and Choerry with her behind an occupied couch.

“Chae wha-”

“SHHH!” Chaewon says as all three girls peek out from behind the furniture.

Hyunjin and Lia walk over to where the girls were just standing. Well, more like Lia just drags Hyunjin over to where the girls were just standing.

“Come on grouchy! If you don’t want to tell me why you went M.I.A. for months, the least you can do is have fun! Do you want a drink?” Lia offers, Hyunjin sighing behind her.

“No, I don’t think that’d be a good ide-”

“HYUNJIN?!” 

A loud, tiny girl screams from the kitchen, bounding all the way over to Hyunjin and engulfing her in a hug. The rest of the room turns to see what all the commotion is about, but simply brush it off. However, a few are whispering as they glance towards the girls hugging. Hyunjin has also seemed to catch the attention of the girls on the steps, who have suddenly stopped giggling to look over at Hyunjin.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you’re here! I haven’t seen you in forever… Well I mean, I see you at school but I mean other than that.” The girl smiles, pulling back from Hyunjin and looking at Lia. 

“Hi Bora.” Lia says, waving her fingers at the other girl. Bora keeps a smile on her face as she leans in close to Hyunjin. 

“Why?” She whispers.

“It’s a long story.” Hyunjin whispers back.

“No fucking way!” A tall girl makes her way over to the group now, almost equally as loud as Bora. “Is that Hyunjin?” 

“Siyeon, hey!” Hyunjin responds.

She walks over with two cups, holding one out to Bora who takes it and then wraps herself around the taller girl.

“I hate gay people.” Hyunjin mocks.

“WHAT?” Lia says, taken aback, a hand over her heart.

“No- it… it’s a joke.” Hyunjin explains. Lia lets out a relieved sigh. 

“Thank god! I got scared for a second. I hate homophobes! Hashtag love wins!” She pokes Hyunjin’s cheek.

Siyeon leans over to whisper to Hyunjin. “Why?”

“It’s a long story.” Bora responds.

“Well,” Siyeon says, suddenly punching Hyunjin playfully in the arm. “We missed you. Do you have a drink yet?”

“I’ve been trying to get her to let loose, but I swear she’s like… a knot or something. Because like, she’s not letting loose.” Lia clarifies. “I’m going to get us drinks!” 

Lia spins without another word and struts to the kitchen, saying hi to random people along the way. The girls reuniting watch her leave and chuckle a little bit.

“ANYWAY. I miss you guys too! The whole team...” Hyunjin responds, her heart filling a little from being appreciated. She honestly didn’t think anyone would care that she had left.

“Then why’d you quit?” Siyeon asks, and Bora nudges her sternly. Siyeon exaggerates the blow and shrugs, looking back at Hyunjin. “What? You were our _captain!_ I mean you kinda quit everything, I just wanna know like… Why?”

Hyunjin opens her mouth, but doesn’t get a word out before she’s interrupted.

“Hi,” an all-too familiar voice greets from behind the former soccer star.

Hyunjin turns around slowly to see Heejin looking back at her, her pink haired girlfriend not too far behind with her arms crossed. 

Everyone watching them suddenly goes silent, feeling as though if anyone were to breathe a bomb would be set off.

“What the fuck is going on?” Chae whispers from their place. 

“This is getting interesting.” Hyejoo whispers back, remembering the extreme tension Heejin and Hyunjin had at the pizza parlor just from seeing each other. 

Choerry feels herself get hot and start to sweat, uneasy from the sudden spike of tension in the unfamiliar house’s living room.

Hyunjin’s breath hitches as she takes Heejin in, but she quickly composes herself.

“Hi.” she responds dryly.

“Why are you here?” The pink-haired girl finally speaks.

Hyunjin smiles sarcastically. “Well _Ryujin_ , you were telling everyone and their fucking mothers that this party was open invite at school, so _I_ thought, why not accept it.”

Some of the guests snicker. Ryujin’s jaw locks, but she looks at Heejin who gives her a warning look. “I’m just… so glad that you’re here, Hyunjin.” Ryujin struggles to say flatly, absolutely no truth to her statement whatsoever.

Heejin looks back at Hyunjin, a hint of sadness in her eyes that Hyejoo observes but just can’t seem to figure out. Heejin opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out at first. “So… how-”

“Oh my god, _HENNESSY!_ What is up girl!” Lia squeals coming back from the kitchen, two red cups with bendy straws in her hands. 

Hyunjin has never been so relieved in her life as she gives Lia a look of gratitude. Lia, a little surprised that Hyunjin’s not rolling her eyes at her for once, winks and hands her one of the cups. 

“Lia. Always a pleasure.” Heejin responds coldly. 

“I know right?” Lia says, smiling as she bites her bendy straw. 

Lia uses her free arm to link herself with Hyunjin, scooting in close. Hyejoo didn’t even need to be close to see Heejin’s eye twitch.

A seductive latin beat comes through the crowd’s small but powerful speakers.

_“Solo, solito en la habitación… Busca, que busca de mi calor,”_

“OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS SONG!” Lia shrieks excitedly, getting way too excited to hear “Sin Pijama” by Becky G.

Heejin, Ryujin and Hyunjin all look at the girl in confusion. The song was clearly being sung in Spanish, yet Lia was singing every word perfectly. “Do you take Spanish or something?” Hyunjin asks, impressed with Lia’s pronunciation.

“No, but Becky G is my girl! We’re mutuals on Instagram!” Lia responds. “Come on, let's dance!” 

Lia takes Hyunjin’s hand and drags her to the living room, leaving Ryujin and Heejin behind to just watch them.

The rest of the crowd slowly drift back to their own conversation. Bora and Siyeon, sipping from their solo cups, shrug and head over to the dance floor themselves.

Heejin watches as Lia dances on Hyunjin to the slow beat, a fire in her eyes with every second passing. Ryujin’s eyes shift between Heejin and the girls dancing, seemingly getting more irritated as she does. Hyejoo and Chaewon mouths drop open when they see Ryujin reach for Heejin’s arm.

“You know what?” Ryujin says, a little too aggressively for one talking to their girlfriend. “I can dance too.” 

Ryujin takes Heejin to the living room where they disappear among the crowd.

 

“Jesus, I didn’t know high school parties would be this dramatic.” Hyejoo says, finally being able to talk at a normal volume.

“Are you kidding!?” Chaewon says, a smile on her face that makes Hyejoo’s heart skip a beat. “I never want to leave,” she breathes out in awe.

Hyejoo looks over to Chaewon who is extremely entertained, and is just glad her reckless decision may just have paid off.

***

A group of exotic fire dancers make a cheerleading pyramid in the middle of the Ha mansion ballroom and proceed to twirl giant balls of flame around.

“Why… Why did we come here,” Jinsol whispers to her wife at her side, eyes trained on the unusual sight.

“I don’t really know anymore,” Jungeun answers with her eyes aglow, looking in unexpected fascination. 

“How are they even doing that?” Jinsol asks. Jungeun never answers, and Jinsol turns to her side to see the shorter woman’s eyes on her phone. “Everything okay?”

“Choerry isn’t responding to my texts,” Jungeun mutters in the warm flashing light of the fire show and that of her phone. “I might just go up there.”

“Oh don’t, she left with Hyejoo and them. I did tell her to answer the phone though, that’s weird.” 

Jungeun turns her neck towards Jinsol so slowly, it’s almost cinematic. _“What?”_

“She left with- oh no, you’re… mad...” Jinsol starts, panic rising as Jungeun continues to look at her like she just strangled a baby.

“Left where?” The CFO is no longer whispering.

“She said they were going with Hyejoo’s babysitter, her and all of them, to a high school party or something-”

“A _WHAT?!”_ Jungeun shrieks. _“Jinsol!”_ she whispers aggressively. “You let Choerry go to _a high school party!?!”_

Jinsol feels as though she should realize her error by now, but she… doesn’t? “Wh- What’s the problem, she’s with the other girls…?” 

“What’s the _problem?!”_ Jungeun hisses, drawing a bit of attention from the guests around her. “You let our daughter go to a high school party? On _New Year’s Eve?”_

Jinsol scoffs a little, she can’t help but disagree. “Jungeun she’s not a baby anymore…” She shrugs, which only makes her wife narrow her eyes in disbelief. “She has four other friends and she’s very respon-”

“And who was driving?”

“Well, Hyejoo’s babysitter-”

Jungeun is appalled. “The high school girl? _Jesus!_ Does she even have her driver’s license to be chaperoning kids around?!” 

“...Well I assume so since she’s a babysitter-”

“That is _not the point Jinsol!”_

The married couple is now bickering in the corner of the central ballroom mid-fire show.

“Do you even know how dangerous those parties can be these days?” Jungeun interrogates aggressively. “Do you even know _where_ they are?”

“I think you just need to relax a bit,” Jinsol laughs lightly instead of admitting that no, she has no idea where their child went. She hates to have to her wife to calm down but the questioning was letting bad thoughts of her own come to surface. “They’re going to be fine.”

“Jinsol,” Jungeun pauses to huff and looks up at her, trying her absolute best not to call her wife an idiot for this. “I know you aren’t used to being the one to decide if she goes out or not. But this is _not_ okay!” 

“For letting her go have fun with a group of friends? Jungeun, parents let their kids do things like this all the time!”

“I’m sorry but I really don’t think you’re in any place to be correcting my parenting,” Jungeun retorts swiftly.

Jinsol is stunned at the low blow for a second, opening her mouth to say things but no no noise comes out because, well, Jungeun’s not wrong. “...I’m just saying not all of them are as uptight as you...!” Jinsol finishes weakly, as if she lost all her courage to finish the sentence halfway through.

Jungeun suddenly recoils. It’s as if the words from Jinsol’s mouth were delivered with physical force. She doesn’t respond, and just looks offended more than anything.

Jinsol immediately shuts her mouth and softens seeing the look on her wife’s face, seeing she’s hit a sore spot. She cringes, like she’s just stepped in something sticky. But before she can say anything-

“I can’t talk to you right now,” Jungeun snaps emotionlessly.

Jinsol’s head tilts in regret. “Wait, Jungeun-” 

But her wife turns around and storms off into the wealthy crowd, disappearing from sight.

***

Sooyoung feels the vibrations of her wife’s army general voice before she hears it. The CEO peeks her head into their very busy private kitchen, where chefs are still assembling food output. 

Jiwoo is standing in the center, a bit flustered in the clinical white light but earth-shatteringly gorgeous nevertheless. She appears to be handling an instance of classic male incompetence. Sooyoung just stares at her as she waits for her to finish, and discovers that she may have found yet another new turn-on. 

Heels clicking beneath her, the sophisticated woman heads over to her wife’s side.

“WHAT!” Jiwoo barks out of stress looking down at perfectly baked cupcakes, not realizing the love of her life is next to her and not another irritating chef.

Sooyoung just smirks amusedly. “Hi,” she giggles melodically.

“O-Oh,” Jiwoo chirps wide-eyed and stunned with minor embarrassment. “I’m sorry honey! I’m just IRRITATED,” the celebrity is suddenly shouting, “THAT SOME PEOPLE DON’T KNOW HOW TO ICE CUPCAKES CORRECTLY!”  

“God you’re so hot,” Sooyoung admires. 

“Oh yeah?” Jiwoo turns to her with a wink and crinkles her nose, to which Sooyoung nods with a closed-mouth giggle while bringing their lips together for a few kisses. 

“Taste it,” Jiwoo says, bringing up a red velvet cupcake to her wife’s mouth to feed her. (This is the only time Sooyoung Ha will ever eat carbs. She loves her wife’s cakes, in more ways than one!) 

Jiwoo looks up triumphantly at her wife’s eyes almost rolling back at the moistness. “That’s so good,” Sooyoung virtually moans. 

“Of course it is,” Jiwoo chirps. “Can you get Hyejoo for me honey? I need her tiny little fingers to help me with the decor.” 

 

Of course. Hyejoo. 

Their child that Sooyoung definitely had _not_ been checking up on.

 

“Sure,” Sooyoung nods, skillfully concealing her inner panic. 

“Thank you,” Jiwoo leans close to the cupcakes in front of her, appreciating the beauty of her babies. “You’ve been checking up on her like I asked you to right?”

“...Yes,” Sooyoung lies flatly.

“Good.” Jiwoo sighs in relief, turning one on its base. “Okay, quickly! I need her now,” she shoos her wife away. 

Had Sooyoung been checking up on her like she was asked to? No. But what could possibly be the problem? Hyejoo stays in her room all the time, why would tonight be any different?

***

So, apparently tonight was different.

Hyejoo is not in her room. Or any of the rooms on the East Wing, much to Sooyoung’s horror. 

The mother had searched every single one, each more frantically than the last. There was no sign of her daughter’s four friends either. On top of that, Hyejoo wasn’t answering her phone at all. 

Is it awful that Sooyoung is more concerned with what Jiwoo might say to her than their child’s current safety? Yes, and it’s even worse that Sooyoung kind of knows it.

So when she returns back to the kitchen empty-handed, well-

“Great, where is she,” Jiwoo says, still focusing on her confections in front of her.

“She’s… Um…” Sooyoung starts with a shaky voice. “Um…” 

She can’t even finish, and Jiwoo turns her head to look away from her cakes and straight into Sooyoung’s eyes. 

“SHE’S DEAD?!” Jiwoo panics ridiculously.

“No! No! I-I’m gonna find her, I just need more time.” Sooyoung responds. 

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN’T FIND HER?!” Jiwoo shouts incredulously, and Sooyoung doesn’t find Jiwoo’s army voice hot anymore. 

“Honey, honey,” Sooyoung says nervously. “I’m gonna find her okay?” 

“You _lost_ her?!? I thought you said you checked up on her on the hour! That should have been less than ten minutes ago!” 

“Well… I…”

Jiwoo waits with flared nostrils for Sooyoung to finish her sentence, but she never does. 

 

“So you _lied_ to me.” Jiwoo says with her jaw locked, her demeanor now stone cold. 

Sooyoung tuts dismissively. “Jiwoo… Don’t say it like that-”

“How should I say it then?” Jiwoo challenges with a low, very betrayed voice. 

Sooyoung just shakes her head and changes the subject to immediately shed the malfeasance off her skin. “Listen, her friends weren’t there either, so I’m sure they’re together.” 

“Oh my God, what if something happened to her,” Jiwoo gasps and fights the possibility with tears springing to her eyes.

“No, no no, Jiwooming, hey,” Sooyoung calms protectively, her hands coming to rub Jiwoo’s forearms. “They have to be somewhere in this big house okay? I’m going to go get her.”

Jiwoo looks completely and utterly overwhelmed. “Well GO! Get out of here and fix this!” she cries, and Sooyoung runs in her heels out of their private kitchen.

***

Everyone tries to hide it, but the uneasiness being felt just by having Heejin, Hyunjin, and Ryujin in the same room for the first time in months was just undeniable.

Hyunjin and Lia dance together, relatively tame for the song playing as the clock on the wall inches toward midnight. Hyunjin just wanted to forget about the events of the night at this point and Lia was happy to oblige. 

When Hyunjin spots Ryujin and Heejin making their way to the floor though, Hyunjin becomes visibly irritated. The girls begin to dance together and Hyunjin is not following the beat anymore, but instead trying her best not to stare at the girls who had moved into her eyesight. Attempting to ignore them, the girl looks the complete opposite way, losing Lia from her sight in the process.

Lia turns around curious as to why the girl has looked away from her, and sees Ryujin and Heejin dancing very closely. Lia rolls her eyes at the couple. 

If Lia is being honest, she really couldn't care less about whatever drama they had going on. Yes, Lia had acquired a little crush on Hyunjin, but it had always been clear who Hyunjin had eyes for. And Lia was never anyone’s second choice.  

Still, the cheerleader can’t help but feel a little skip in her heart for the former soccer captain. And truthfully speaking, she likes having her fun with Hyunjin regardless of where it led to. Hyunjin is cute, and Lia is only human. And a lesbian. So she’s decided to make the most of the night, because she figures well, it’s what they both deserved. 

However, Ryujin and her little girlfriend Horsefly were starting to come in between them and their fun. So Lia decides then and there to amp up the intensity.

Lia grabs Hyunjin’s face to turn it back towards her own. 

“Fuck them!” Lia says playfully, bringing her face closer so Hyunjin can hear her over the noisy music. “Follow my lead,” she says, as “Promiscuous” by Nelly Furtado comes starts. 

Hyunjin raises an eyebrow, curious. She nods slowly and Lia smiles. 

Lia takes Hyunjin’s hand in hers. She lifts it up high to spin underneath it and then backs up slightly so that they are front to back. Lia looks back to make sure Hyunjin’s okay only to see her blushing in response. Lia smirks as she places Hyunjin’s hands on her waist. She feels Hyunjin tense up a little.

Lia turns to look at Hyunjin. “What, are you scared?”

Hyunjin rolls her eyes at the challenge. _Her? Scared?_   

“I just feel like everyone’s looking at us.” Hyunjin replies. Paranoid as she might be, she definitely wasn’t wrong. Lia only smiles at her worry.

“And they should be! We’re hot! _You’re hot!”_ Lia says, turning back around. “Just have fun!”

Hyunjin can’t help but smile at the compliment. She looks down at herself and there really was no denying it. She looks _good_.

Hyunjin immediately relaxes, swaying comfortably with Lia as the music goes on. Hyunjin would never admit it, but they’re moving in perfect sync. 

“I am hot huh?” Hyunjin jokes, running a hand through her own hair tussling it a little bit.

Lia laughs, making Hyunjin giggle too. Lia just keeps moving to the rhythm, even when she notices a certain someone burning holes into her head.

Heejin is furious as she looks over Ryujin’s shoulder. She’s trying her best to hide it, but it’s more than obvious that the girl is pissed.

Lia, comfortable in Hyunjin’s arms, winks smugly at Heejin. 

Meanwhile, Hyejoo, Chaewon, and Choerry watch in awe from a couch that was pushed out of the way as the drama unfolds in front of them.

Ryujin had noticed Heejin looking at Hyejoo’s babysitter and her date. The pink haired girl was now trying to show off with Heejin and _very_ promiscuous dancing.

Heejin complies and begins dancing with her pink-haired girlfriend, but Hyejoo was pretty sure it was only to make Hyunjin as jealous as Hyunjin was making her.

Neither of them were getting the attention they wanted though, as Hyunjin and Lia continued to giggle together.

“They are insane.” Hyejoo comments.

“WOW.” Suddenly Yeojin plops down next to them on the sofa. Her eyes are barely visible through the zeroes in the new year’s sunglasses she’s sporting, an orange hat on her head to match. “Hyejoo, I had doubts at first, but your babysitter? She’s kind of hot. And you know I’m not into women under thirty...” Yeojin takes a sip from a red cup that she’s come into the possession of.

“Are you _drinking?”_ Choerry whispers, her eyes bulging as she looks at the cup.

“Yeah of course I _drink_ Choerry… I’m a _HIGH SCHOOLER_ . _HA! NEW YEARS WOO!”_ Yeojin says loudly as she looks around. 

Yeojin notices Choerry’s immediate good-girl terror and moves in closer in order to whisper. “Relax. It’s just a Sprite I found in the fridge. Not gonna lie it’s fucking spicy though. It’s corroding the lining of my throat.” The tiny girl takes another sip. “Worse than your boyfriend’s B.O.,” she laments, with a tilt of her can.

Choerry thinks for a second. She was undoubtedly feeling anxious, especially with the growing tension of high school drama in front of her. Maybe Sprite _would_ ease her nausea for a little while.

“Okay but Yeojin’s right… Hyunjin looks so good.” Chaewon says, continuing to stare at the high schoolers dancing.

“Seriously?” Hyejoo says, her face drenched in disbelief. 

“You said you got that in the fridge?” Choerry asks Yeojin, who takes another sip and then coughs like she’s just inhaled ground-up ghost pepper from the Sprite’s apparent acidity. 

“Yeah, bottom drawer.” Yeojin replies.

“I’ll be right back guys,” Choerry says softly, excusing herself from the couch as her friends nod in acknowledgement.

“Really? You think _she’s_ hot?” Choerry can hear Hyejoo interrogate Chaewon as she walks towards the kitchen. She giggles a little at Hyejoo’s increasing concern.

The massive amount of teenagers in the kitchen is enough to put the middle school president over the edge. Taking a deep breath, Choerry weaves her way through kids in order to get to the fridge. 

She’s about to open the door when a boy approaches her and puts his hand on the handle.

“Hey.” An unfamiliar, much older high school boy says, looking Choerry up and down. He’s wearing a football jersey, and jeans, patchy scruff around his chin. “I haven’t seen you around before.” 

Choerry stiffens. “I’m not… I don’t go to your school.” She says trying not to blow her friends’ cover, but feeling even more uneasy than before. 

“Oh, I know. I would’ve definitely noticed you.” He says, a smirk growing on his face.

“That’s nice…” Choerry says, trying her best to smile despite the uncomfortable situation.

The unwanted boy moves even closer to her. “Do you want to go somewhere more private?” 

Choerry immediately takes a few steps back. “I-I have a boyfriend, sorry.”

The boy still advances. “I don’t see him…” He tries to lean in but a very terrified Choerry suddenly pushes the large boy out of the way, bolting out of the kitchen.

“OH COME ON!” he shouts at her back.

***

Yeojin is still struggling to finish her Sprite when she notices Choerry sprinting up the Ryujin’s stairs in a hurry.

The student body president is shielding her face, and definitely had no one accompanying her, which Yeojin thought was unusual.

Actually, Choerry had been acting kind of weird ever since they had left the Ha residence. Yeojin had just thought Choerry was being a prude about going to a party, but now she was starting to have some concerns.

The highschoolers were still dancing in front of them, but the tension had eased off a bit. An upbeat song was playing and Hyunjin and Lia were now accompanied by Sua and Siyeon, dancing and singing at the top of their lungs.

Ryujin and Heejin were off to the side, watching both bitter and sad. Yeojin figured she could spare a few seconds without missing anything.

“Um, I’ll be back.” Yeojin says to Hyejoo and Chaewon. Hyejoo waves her off.

“You really think Hyunjin is hot?” Hyejoo asks Chaewon for the _millionth_ time now in a sheepish, timid tone, and Yeojin rolls her eyes as she gets up off the couch. _If Olivia thinks for one second she was being subtle…_

Yeojin makes her way up the stairs, trying not to fall over teenagers on the way. She finally makes it to the second floor, looking down a poorly lit hallway smelling of spilled alcohol. There were a few teenagers hanging around, but not many. She starts walking down, the floor creaking beneath her as she looks for any sign of her friend.

“Hey freshman! Can I at least get the hair dye!” A teenager wearing gloves stained pink screams from outside of the bathroom door. 

Yeojin walks over to her, taking off her sunglasses and hat. “Hey barbershop, who’s in there?” 

The older girl sighs. “First of all, my name is _Minji_ and second of all, I don’t know, some little freshman with pink hair and a purple sweater crying.” 

 _Choerry? Crying?_ Yeojin starts to feel worried. 

“Minji! Someone’s calling for you downstairs!” 

Minji scoffs and appears to be very irritatedf. “What? Who? Is it Yoohyeon…! Because if it is?! I don’t care I told her if she talked to Handong again I-”

“Yoohyeon, Handong, Ryujin, Heejin, _Jesus Christ_ , who don’t you high schoolers have drama with? Go downstairs!” Yeojin says.

Minji scoffs, and heads downstairs without another word.

Yeojin approaches the door and raps on the thin wooden door. “Hey Choerry?”

She hears a sniffle, but other than that, complete silence. Yeojin tries to wriggle the door handle a little, but it’s locked from the inside. Yeojin sighs.

“Choerry it’s just me…” She says, concerned. “...Ya girl…”  

She hears a familiar little laugh through sniffles behind the thin door. 

“Are you okay?” No answer. Yeojin leans her head against the door. “Choerry, open up, I’m worried or whatever,” the class clown says.

A few seconds pass and Yeojin starts to think Choerry is never going to open up. But then, the bathroom door unlocks and the knob turns slowly. Yeojin peeks in slowly to find Choerry with her back against the wall, a mild amount of tears on her face even though she’s trying to wipe their traces away.

“Oh thank God I thought you flushed yourself down the toilet or shit yourself or something.” Yeojin says, coming in fully to join Choerry in the small bathroom and closes the door behind her. She stops. “Wait you didn’t shit yourself did you?”

Choerry allows a laugh to break through again. “No.” 

Yeojin sits down next to her. “Then what’s wrong?”

Choerry just shakes her head, not really prepared to have this conversation with any of her friends.

“I know something’s been up Barney. Ever since you got in Hyunjin’s car.” Yeojin bites the inside of her cheek. “You’re like... On edge or something.” 

The president just looks down, her hands finding each other once again as they had been all night.

Choerry takes a deep breath. “Can you keep a secret?” 

“...Sure?” Yeojin looks up at the taller girl with a confused expression.

The moment between them is unusually tender, under the hum of the yellow bathroom light.

There’s something about it, considering that the two have really only been alone together maybe twice in their lifetime. And the last time they were was when Choerry caught Yeojin hallway swimming after school on her way to a student council meeting. 

Choerry plays with the thread on her skirt. “Remember that day…” the pink-haired eighth grader winces at the memory. “In the gym?” 

How could Yeojin forget? “...Yeah?”

“Well after that... I had, like, um… An... attack.” Choerry says staring into the crevices of Ryujin’s bathroom sink, her kind eyes not wanting to meet Yeojin’s.

“You were… a victim of an attack…?” Yeojin tilts her head a little with squinted eyes, a little afraid for Choerry to be honest. 

“Yes, well- No, I was, like, attacked-”

“Oh wow like by a bear or something...?” Yeojin asks, not understanding.

Choerry closes her eyes in frustration. There’s really no way to get this across without outright saying it. 

“An anxiety attack,” she clarifies quietly. “I have anxiety.” The phrase was still unacquainted with the eighth grade girl, laced with hesitation as it passed through her lips.

“...Oh.”

“Oh,” Choerry repeats, looking down at her shoes.

“...Like… Getting nervous? Isn’t that the same thing?” Yeojin questions very hesitantly, trying her best not to come off the wrong way but she genuinely doesn’t know.

“No… like,” Choerry struggles. “My moms- Um... Sometimes I, like, I have to go talk to someone… And I-”

“Ohhhhh,” Yeojin breathes suddenly with a slow head nod, and to Choerry’s surprise the deep-voiced girl is much less judgemental about this than she is about literally anything else on the planet. 

“Like… one thing makes me really nervous. And then I… I like never stop being nervous. And... It doesn’t go away even if everything around me is fine. Sometimes, I feel it when nothing is even happening. But when I feel it, e-everything around me is too much, and then it gets worse… And my stomach hurts _so bad_.” Choerry opens up. “Then I cry even though I don’t even want to… I’m not even sad, it’s just, like, happens.” 

Yeojin looks at her friend, shifting a little awkwardly but trying her best to show her concern. Choerry sniffles again and puts her used tissues in the tiny trash bin.

Yeojin doesn’t say anything, her expression unreadable, so Choerry lets out a shaky breath to continue explaining herself. “So when we came to a place where we weren’t supposed to be, without knowing where we were going, or how we’re even getting home… I… A-And then Hyejoo’s babysitter started talking to that one girl with the pink hair and I felt like they were going to fight or something. Plus my stomach was hurting already so I went to get a Sprite from the fridge and this boy… I told him I had a boyfriend but he still tried to… Like, kiss me.” she shivers a little.

Yeojin puts a hand on Choerry’s arm awkwardly in a sincere attempt at comfort. She’s silent for a moment. Then, with a steely expression - “Do you want me to castrate him?” 

“No,” Choerry sighs. “I really just want to go home.” 

Yeojin nods immediately. “Okay. Then we can go home.” 

Choerry’s eyes widen. “What? No, no you’re having fun, I’ll just go home by myself it’s okay.” 

“No, it’s not _that_ fun.” Yeojin lies, placing the party hat and sunglasses at her sides. “Plus your mom is the only one who knows we’re at a party. You can call her to come get us while we find the others. Come on.”

Yeojin extends a hand to Choerry, but the girl on the wall hesitates. 

“Actually, can I just stay up here? I’m- I’m afraid of seeing the guy again…” Choerry trails off.

Yeojin nods again. “Oh yeah, I’m stupid. …Just wait here for me then?” the principal’s daughter says, looking up at the girl. “Will you be okay?” 

“Yeah.” Choerry says, taking another deep breath. “I’ll call my mom while you go down there.” 

Yeojin shakes her head and is about to open the door when Choerry grabs her arm. 

“Wait- Yeojin?”

The short girl turns around. “Yeah?”

“Thank you,” Choerry says in a small voice, looking at her friend. “Thank you so much for this,” she repeats, feeling more relieved than she has all night. “...If you could keep it all a secret-”

Yeojin smiles awkwardly. “I said I could keep a secret, couldn’t I?” 

Choerry gives Yeojin an endearing smile as her eyes light up in the process. “You’re a really good friend.” 

“Ewww, shut the FUCK up,” Yeojin says in an extra-deep voice as she returns back to her normal self (or perhaps, the one she lets others see), and Choerry giggles. “I’ll be right back.”

Saying no more, Yeojin exits the bathroom, and makes her way back downstairs to gather the rest of the girls.

***

Jinsol has absolutely no idea where her wife is. 

The CEO had tried to chase after her when she initially had walked away, but the amount of people in the regal ballroom was overwhelming. She had elected to just give Jungeun some space for a bit, but now, an hour or two had passed and Jinsol still had not seen her again.

And now, as she walks through the party ballroom, Jinsol is surrounded by so many dancing bodies that she didn’t even know which way the music was coming from.

Jinsol decides to step a little bit out from the crowd, nearing the edge of the dancefloor when she hears the familiar voice of her wife scream behind her.

“OH MY GOD! IT’S MY WIFE, EVERYBODY!” 

Jinsol turns around, her eyes wide after immediately recognizing that voice.

Jungeun, a little disheveled, is pointing at Jinsol very aggressively to a total stranger. She has a very large and curvy drink glass in hand, and is significantly louder than usual. 

The crowd around her cheers, and the drunken CFO makes her way over to Jinsol, immediately flinging her arms around her when she gets close. She spills a little bit of her drink in the process, sending Jinsol stumbling back a little.

“JINSOL care me.” Jungeun slurs, cuddling into her wife’s chest.

 _“What??”_ Jinsol questions, not sure what is going on. 

Jungeun steps back a little, then grabs a handful of Jinsol’s blonde hair. 

 _“CRONCH._ Hahahaha,” Jungeun is now cackling like a witch for no good reason with her wife’s blonde hair in her hands. “Crunch crunch crunch so CRUNCHY!” 

“Stop that!” Jinsol whines at the fried sound effects and Jungeun releases her hair, giggling maniacally. 

“What? Oh, am I TOO loose now? Well guess WHAT! There’s no re-tightening this fishing pole wire! Because like they say! Once you crumble the paper that’s just the way it happens!” Jungeun says, chugging the rest of her drink to set her glass on a passing waiter’s tray, clearly unaware that her last sentence barely qualified as English.

Jinsol had witnessed her wife drunk before, many, many times. But the way Jungeun was acting now was on a completely different level. It was as if Jinsol had unlocked a new character by calling Jungeun uptight.

Jungeun suddenly grabs Jinsol’s ass, and Jinsol squeaks loudly making many people glance over at them. _“Honey what are you doing!”_ Jinsol exclaims, beet red from embarrassment.

Out of nowhere, Jungeun turns around and attempts to grind her flat ass on Jinsol completely off beat to the booming music blasting through the multicolored ballroom. Jinsol has no idea what’s happening. The CFO spins back around to face her wife, bringing their bodies as close as she possibly can while still dancing to the beat, letting her hands caress her wife’s exposed back.

Jinsol might have been turned on if the whole reason Jungeun was being like this wasn’t because she had hurt her feelings.

“Baby,” Jinsol gets closer so that her wife can hear her over the loud noise. “I’m so sorry for calling you uptight.” she says, reaching to take Jungeun’s hands in her own. “I didn’t mean that, that was hurtful.” 

Jungeun looks at her seriously for the first time since she found her. She’s about to respond until her phone rings. She gasps dramatically at Choerry’s caller ID.

“OUR FETUS IS CALLING!” Jungeun holds her iPhone up and hits the speaker button. “Hello my little Egg McMuffin!” she coos in a customer service voice. “Can I take your order?” 

 _“What?”_ Choerry questions from the other end of the line.

Jungeun starts laughing loudly at her own nonsensical drunken humor. 

_“Um… Mom?”_

“Yes this is your MOM! Don’t ever forget that, oh my God I love you so much.” Jungeun lifts a hand to cover her suddenly teary eyes, while Jinsol watches in disbelief. “You are SO tiny… My baby... I can’t believe your mother said it was OKAY to go to a high school party! AAAAAAH!” Jungeun screams like a pterodactyl. “But then again… YOU AREN’T A BABY! IT’S JUST HARD BECAUSE YOU ARE MY BABY?! AND YOU KNOW! I SHOULDN’T HAVE GOTTEN SO MAD AT MOM!”

Jungeun was now looking at Jinsol, obviously trying to explain herself to her wife through this conversation. Jinsol nods understandingly with a smile, squeezing Jungeun’s free hand. 

 _“Mommy can you come pick me up? I don’t want to be here anymore.”_ Choerry asks, evidently anxious.

“Choerry?” Jinsol speaks up protectively now. “It’s me… Is everything okay?” 

It’s silent for a second. _“Yeah I just want you to come get me please,”_ Choerry says hurriedly. 

Jinsol looks at her wife who clearly is in no condition to drive. They could go together, but Jinsol knows that Jungeun gets _extremely_ carsick when she’s drunk... But it’s not like she was going to leave their child at that party alone either.

“DON’T WORRY SWEETIE. I MAY BE A LITTLE BIT TIPSY. BUT I WILL HAVE SOMEONE PICK YOU UP, OKAY. I WILL FIND YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE MY EGG.” Jungeun shrieks into the microphone.

“Choerry we will find a way to get you, do you know the address of the house you’re at?” Jinsol asks.

 _“Okay my phone’s gonna die but we’re at Hyejoo’s babysitter’s friend’s house it’s-”_ But before Choerry can finish her sentence, the line cuts.

“Shit,” Jinsol curses very worriedly, looking at her wife. “How are we going to find her?”

“WELL. We could-” The music cuts to silence as the current song ends. And then-

_“It’s Britney bitch,”_

Suddenly, Jungeun’s eyes roll to the back of her head. 

_“I see you. And I just want to dance with you.”_

Jungeun separates herself a little from Jinsol, flinging her arms everywhere, mumbling the words to “Gimme More” by the one and only Britney Spears. 

 _“MmMmNnnnAAn NANA la la LIGHTS DOOOOOOWN!”_ Jungeun is basically screeching into the ballroom. 

Meanwhile, Sooyoung Ha has just entered their vicinity, searching frantically for her missing daughter. She looks around and sees no sign of her, but she does see Jungeun Kim on the dance floor causing a scene. Jinsol’s bright blonde head isn’t too far away. Sooyoung groans, not wanting to approach them - but she was feeling a little desperate. Maybe the Kims would have some idea as to where her kid was, since Choerry was missing from the east wing as well...

Sooyoung rolls her eyes before walking over to the woman, heels clicking the floor loudly the entire way. 

“Excuse me.” Sooyoung barks, startling Jinsol a little bit. 

“Jesus Christ. What do you want?” Jinsol asks, turning her attention from her wife.

“Have you seen my daughter? She’s not in her room along with all her little friends, so I figured you might-” Sooyoung is distracted by Jungeun, a grown woman, slut-dropping to the floor. “Are you going to shut that down?” Sooyoung asks as a clearly intoxicated Jungeun attempts to twerk on her wife.

Jinsol looks over but turns back to Sooyoung with her arms crossed. “She’s a grown woman, I don’t control her!”

Sooyoung takes a deep breath. “Whatever, do you know where my kid is or not?”

“They all went to some high school party,” Jinsol answers.

“THEY LEFT THE HOUSE?!” The other CEO freaks, her eyes bugging out of her head.

“You didn’t know your child wasn’t in the house?” Jinsol smirks a little, clearly judging Sooyoung’s parenting.

“I-”

“YOU GO PARTY GIRL!” Jiwoo yells as she suddenly comes into view, throwing stray $100 bills at Jungeun, who is only enabled by her bestfriend’s actions. “Oh my god! Why aren’t you like this everyday?”

“I LOVE YOU!” Jungeun screams drunkenly.

“I LOVE _YOU!”_ Jiwoo responds with similar fervor. She smiles wide until she sees her wife standing off to the side in her peripheral.

Jiwoo walks over to Jinsol and Sooyoung with a pointed look. “Well, did you find our child?” 

Sooyoung is ghost white. “Um… well… listen-” 

“She went to a high school party.” Jinsol supplies, and Sooyoung immediately steps on the other CEO’s heel with hers. Jinsol holds in a yelp.

 _“SHE LEFT OUR HOUSE!?”_ Jiwoo screeches, terror filling her face.

“Baby it’s fine-” Sooyoung tries to touch Jiwoo’s arm, but shorter woman recoils.

“It is _NOT_ fine! Our daughter ran away to a party and we have no idea where she is! It’s not like we can get all these strangers out of our house to go search for her either!” Jiwoo’s nostrils are flaring. 

Jinsol has never seen the woman this angry before… Or angry in general… They don’t exactly show the angry side of Chuu on TV...

“Well, Choerry called and asked us to come get them. They said they were at Hyejoo’s babysitter’s friend’s house?” Jinsol offers, trying to get the normally Positive Polly to stop from exploding.

“See! We know Hyunjin’s address!” Sooyoung tries to sound positive.

“She said Hyunjin’s FRIEND’s house. How are we supposed to find them now?” Jiwoo says, clearly very stressed.

Silence.

“HI IRENE!” Jungeun yells suddenly, scaring the adults as she has stopped dancing and is now holding up her phone on FaceTime to the group.

“Jungeun Kim?” Irene Kang asks, confused as to why a disheveled St. Jihyo’s parent she’s spoken to about once is FaceTiming her in the middle of the night. “What is the matter with you?”

“WHAT? IT’S NEW YEARS EVE!” Jungeun screams loudly. “Anyway, Yeojin, Yeri, Hyejoo, Chaewon and Choerry snuck out of the house to go to a high school party and we need someone to go get them. Actually Choerry didn’t sneak out she asked us, God, our sweet little angel, you HAVE to find her!”

 _“EXCUSE ME?!”_ Irene responds, her face extremely close to the camera now. It appears that her nose is pressed up against the screen. “A HIGH SCHOOL PARTY?!”

“YES! THAT’S WHAT I SAID!” Jungeun responds in a giggling fit. “But the problem is, we um don’t know wh-!”

“Not to worry.” Irene speaks calmly. “I have Yeri microchipped in case this ever occurred.”

“You what?” Sooyoung and Jinsol say at the same time. They look at each other in disgust, then back at Irene.

“I’ve eaten one of those before! My stomach beeped for a week!” Jiwoo says, almost as if she was bragging.

“Yeah!” Seulgi Kang says, suddenly appearing on the screen. “I have the GPS to it locked in a safe so Irene won’t track her every move. The password is something she would never guess.”

Seulgi walks over to the safe, covers the passcode keyboard with one hand and types in the word **_CHEESE._ ** The safe opens and she pulls out a GPS, walking back over towards her wife and showing the device to the camera.

“We can go get them!” Seulgi smiles, but it fades when she looks down at herself. “Aww, but I did just change into my pajamas…” 

“Don’t worry Jungeun.” Irene declares like a secret agent on a mission.  
“We will be on our way to retrieve them within ten minutes.” 

“IRENE DA-” Jungeun burps. “Oh God… IRENE DA BEST!”

“Thank you so, so much Irene!” Jiwoo sends a big air kiss to the phone with both hands.

“We’ll drop off the kids soon. I’ll be in contact.” Irene says.

“Can I just wear my paj-” Irene hangs up before Seulgi can finish her sentence, leaving the adults standing around each other.

“Well. As much as I’d like to hangout with you!” Jiwoo says looking at Jungeun, who sends her finger guns in return. “I have to go cry in my child’s room! Hahaha happy Chuu Year everyone!” 

With that, Jiwoo spins on her heel, walking straight out of the party. Sooyoung follows close behind, nearly tripping over herself.

“Well that was… interesting.” Jinsol says, looking at her wife, who was still moving to the beat. 

“Hey.” Jinsol pulls her wife over to her by the waist gently. “I really am sorry I called you uptight. I know you just want to make sure Choerry’s safe. I shouldn't have given her an answer until I knew how you felt about it.”

Jungeun pouts, her half-open eyes beginning to water. Jinsol’s eyes widen and her eyebrows go up in panic.

“Why are you crying? What’d I say?” Jinsol asks.

“JINSOL YOU ARE JUST SO GREAT- I AM MARRIED TO YOU?!” Jungeun wails, cupping Jinsol’s face and bring her in for a sloppy kiss. “Honey,” Jungeun pauses for another burp. “I didn’t need to say the thing about correcting my parenting, okay? You are trying so hard and doing so well and Yerim is _our_ little egg. We should both have a say-” Jungeun burps again.

“It’s okay.” Jinsol chuckles at Jungeun’s slightly slurred speech. “What should we do while we wait for our daughter then?”

Suddenly the shrill synth of _Toxic_ by Britney Spears comes on over the speakers.

“BRITNEY AGAIN!” The CFO shouts, putting both hands on her head and lets out an animalistic scream. 

Jungeun looks like a drunk princess as she pulls Jinsol towards the center of the ballroom where she begins to dance wildly to the music. But, she manages to stay on beat, feeling the rhythm.

As Jinsol dances awkwardly, Jungeun brings herself closer to her, laughing.

“YOU CAN’T DANCE! YOU CAN’T DANCE!” Jungeun screams again, making Jinsol embarrassed yet again as she awkwardly moves to the fast beat. “YOU LITTLE NERD! YOU’RE JUST A LITTLE NERD,” Jungeun finishes with a nasal voice, as if bullying someone in grade school. Jinsol is so red that Jungeun cups her cheeks. “But I love you,” Jungeun insists with emotional eyes. “I love you so much, you’re my nerd,” she slurs as she grinds her body up against her wife’s.

Jinsol blushes, secretly loving the ungodly amount of attention her wife was giving her tonight. She giggles. “I love you too,” Jinsol mouths back with a dreamy smile over the music.

***

Yeojin finds Hyejoo on the couch alone after pushing through what felt like an endless amount of sweaty teenagers. “Hey, we’re going to leave now.”

Hyejoo snaps out of her trance. “What? Why?”

“Because Choerry doesn’t feel good and wants to go home.” Yeojin words carefully, making sure to remain vague for her friend locked in the bathroom upstairs.

“But-” Hyejoo is about to protest when Chaewon laughs loudly from the kitchen being chatted up by some freshman. Hyejoo turns to see the little blonde losing her mind at whatever the girl is saying, her hand over her mouth.

“Yeah you know what I fucking hate people anyway,” Hyejoo says, getting up and walking over to Chaewon. Yeojin rolls her eyes, watching from a distance.

“That’s hilarious I-” 

“Chae.” 

Chaewon turns to Hyejoo who has just interrupted her conversation.

“Oli! Hey, I was just talking to um...” Chaewon looks at the tall girl across from her.

“Aisha!” The girl says, sending a small wave to Hyejoo.

“Yeah! Aisha was telling me this really funny story, you like have to hear it.” Chaewon says, taking a bite of one of the snacks in her bowl.

“That would be great but unfortunately, we’re leaving, sorry _Aisha.”_ Hyejoo responds abruptly, grabbing Chaewon’s hand and pulling her towards the living room.

Yeojin thinks that maybe if Hyejoo would turn around and see how furiously Chaewon was blushing at the connection of their hands, she might stop being so useless.

“Why are we leaving?” Chaewon asks when she sees Yeojin.

“Choerry doesn’t feel good.” Hyejoo responds, as if jealousy has nothing to do with it. 

Chaewon looks at her confused, but then realizes that they are still holding hands. Chaewon looks down at them and Hyejoo catches on, immediately releasing her.

“Sorry.” Hyejoo mumbles softly.

“It’s okay.” Chaewon replies, smiling a little.

“...This is romantic and everything but we really should leave.” Yeojin is about to turn when she does a double take. 

Looking around the entire party, Yeojin throws her hands up in frustration. “Where the fuck is Yeri?” 

“Fuck if I know?” Hyejoo responds. “I haven’t seen her since she bolted up the stairs earlier.”

“Well she’s not upstairs, I was just up there!” Yeojin says, trying to scan the crowd again.

Chae just bites into another snack. “Look she has to be here somewhere, so we can just look around. When we find her we can go.”  

With that, the girls spread out, searching for their friend.

***

Hyunjin thinks she hears a 20 year-old smoker yell _YERI WHERE ARE YOU?_ from inside the house, but she’s a little too preoccupied (and a little too tipsy) to think anything of it.

“She set your hair on fire?!” Lia says in pure amazement.

Hyunjin and Lia had gotten a little tired of dancing and were now sitting in the house’s sunroom just off to the side of the living room. Pink and blue string lights hung from the ceiling, leaving the area dimly lit. There were a few other high schoolers occupying the area, but they were in their own little world, conversing with each other as what Hyunjin recognizes as “We Can’t Stop” by Miley Cyrus plays from the living room. 

“YES!” Hyunjin screams, disrupting the peacefulness of the area. She covers her mouth looking around. Lia looks around with her and then both girls bursts out into giggles.

Much to Hyunjin’s surprise, Lia had actually been a fantastic date tonight. Besides the dancing, Lia was constantly taking her mind off of everything she had been afraid of when they first entered the party. Whether it was getting her to dance or making sure she had enough water to balance out her drinking, Lia was actually one of the coolest people Hyunjin had ever hung out with. 

It had never occurred to Hyunjin that the head cheerleader’s impulsive attitude would actually free her from her own self-consciousness. Hyunjin hadn’t felt this good about herself since… Well, since before she cut everyone in her life off.

And maybe it was the flow of alcohol in her system, but she was almost positive that Lia had gotten prettier every passing minute they had been there.

“So wait, emo girl is _not_ your sister… but you still babysit her after she did that?” Lia asks.

Hyunjin nods, taking a sip out of her red cup. “Yeah. I don’t know… After everything with like... The drama and stuff at school, it was kind of the only thing that made me feel like I mattered..? And yeah, she’s a handful,” Hyunjin chuckles. “But you know, I’d like to believe she’s really a good kid.” 

Lia tilts her head. “You know Hyunjin, I don’t know the details of what happened with Ryujin and Hymen but… fuck them if they did something that made you feel like you didn’t matter. I mean did you see your team tonight? They like, totally missed you!” 

Hyunjin offers a soft smile, for a moment, and all that can be heard is background chatter and Miley Cyrus. “Yeah, I think I’m starting to realize that I maybe didn’t need to cut everyone off.” She looks down at the floor, slightly embarrassed at how dramatic she must seem.

Lia leans down to be back in Hyunjin’s eyesight. “Hey, it’s okay you’re here now and you’re going to start talking to people again right!” 

“Right.” Hyunjin chuckles and watches as Lia sits back up, taking a sip of her own drink. “Thanks.”

“For what?” Lia asks, cup still lingering in front of her face.

“For making me have fun, even though this literally could’ve been the worst.” Hyunjin says. “Seriously, there’s no way I would’ve come here if it weren’t for you. You convinced me that maybe I’m more important to people than I thought.” 

Lia blushes, and Hyunjin does too just by seeing her reaction.

“It’s not hard to be convincing when you believe it.” Lia responds. “You’re like… one of the most amazing-est people that I know.”

Hyunjin laughs. But she looks at Lia smiling in front of her, and suddenly feels a pang of guilt.

“Hey I’m… I’m sorry I avoided you so hard before.” Hyunjin looks regretful for shutting down such a great person. 

Lia’s smile becomes gentler. “It’s okay,” she says in her soft voice, with a slow nod of her head. “I know I can be… bold sometimes,” she finishes, looking away with a smirk. 

“Yeah but still. You’re really amazing too Lia. I wish I had seen it sooner.” Hyunjin admits. For the first time since she’s ever learned how to talk, Lia is speechless.

 _“30 SECONDS TO MIDNIGHT!”_ Hyunjin hears coming from inside the living room. 

“You know, I think the countdown is overrated.” Hyunjin states. “Just say it’s midnight you know?”

Lia gasps, exaggerating the level of offense she’s taken. “No! It’s all about the suspense. The thought of starting totally fresh. Everything feels like slower and prettier when it’s happening and it makes everything so… Sparkly! You know?”

Hyunjin was pretty sure Lia was describing nostalgia, even though she had never thought of it as being ‘sparkly’ really - but she nods anyway. 

_“20 SECONDS!”_

“Plus,” Lia’s eyes twinkle as she looks at Hyunjin. “How else would you time your New Year’s kiss?”

Hyunjin blushes and looks down at her hands.

“Well, I’ve never had a New Year’s kiss, so.” Hyunjin looks back up at Lia slowly, as to not scare her. Especially in addition to the implications she knew her response carried.

Lia just smiles. She scooches closer to Hyunjin on the couch they’re sharing.

_“10!”_

“That’s an easy fix.” Lia says, moving in closer. 

Hyunjin can smell the other girl’s vanilla scented perfume now and she allows herself to be engulfed in the scent. Lia is looking at Hyunjin with hooded eyes, gazing at her lips.

_“5!”_

It was as if the world was going in slow motion, the blue and pink lights around them blurring as Hyunjin focused only on Lia.

Yeah, maybe “sparkly” _was_ the perfect way to describe it.

_“2!”_

Lia leans in, and Hyunjin hesitates to move. But then she remembers the last time she hesitated to kiss someone. 

She doesn’t think she wants to make that mistake again.

“1!”

Hyunjin meets Lia halfway, a hand gentle to Lia’s cheek as she connects their lips for a kiss.

Cheers erupt all throughout the house as people celebrate the first seconds of the new year. Fireworks bloom in the night outside. 

Hyunjin wishes they were going off inside her heart too.

But right now… she supposes that didn’t really matter. This wasn’t about feelings or being in love, it was about having a good time and enjoying herself. And right now, kissing Lia at the stroke of midnight made Hyunjin feel like she was on top of the world. 

Hyunjin continues to move her mouth against Lia’s, the cheerleader’s soft lips working effortlessly to make Hyunjin forget that they were even at a party. Like no one else existed.

 

Except, someone else did exist. 

And that someone was standing by the door, her heart shattering at the sight in front of her.

 

“Babe, I couldn’t find you at midnight, why are you-” Ryujin approaches Heejin as Heejin tries to turn away, hiding her teary eyes.

Ryujin looks at her girlfriend reaching out to rub her arm comfortingly. She turns to find the reason for the girl’s sadness. She looks into the sunroom, where various teenagers are watching the fireworks outside and Lia is making out with someone on the sunroom couch. 

Wait, that was… _Hyunjin._

The gears in Ryujin’s head start turning and she recoils the hand that had been on Heejin’s arm.

“Are you fucking serious?” Ryujin says, her voice cold.

“What? I’m fine, I just-” Heejin attempts to save herself, knowing exactly how things look.

“I thought we were fucking over this!” Ryujin says, her voice rising. “Even when she cuts you off you _still_ can’t let her go?!” 

The crowd inside have ceased celebrating the new year and are instead, beginning to circle around the girls fighting outside the sunroom. Yeojin, Hyejoo and Chaewon stop their search for Yeri as they look over to the high schooler’s yelling.

“Ryujin it’s not that easy-” 

“YES IT _IS!_ IT’S EXACTLY THAT EASY.” She yells, breaking everyone in the sunroom out of their trances. Including Lia and Hyunjin, who are now broken apart, looking at the girlfriends fighting - well, Ryujin screaming at Heejin. Someone cuts the music, as the crowd murmurs while their collective attention shifts.

“Holy shit.” Yeojin looks at Hyejoo. “Hyunjin the WOMANIZER?”

“Shut up, it’s getting good!” Chaewon says, making them turn their attention back to the drama.

Ryujin is far from finished. _“You know,”_ she scoffs angrily. “I could turn the world for you and it wouldn’t fucking matter! Because I’ll never be her. _Isn’t that right Heejin?!”_

“Why the fuck are you yelling at her for?” Hyunjin says, standing up from the couch and moving closer to her former friends. 

Ryujin laughs harshly.

“God, first you come to my party _uninvited_ and now you’re trying to be some hero? Mind your own fucking business loser.” The pink-haired girl clenches her jaw.

“You’re the one making it everyone’s fucking business by yelling at her like that.” Hyunjin says, stepping within a dangerous distance to Ryujin, her nostrils flaring.

“YEAH!” Yeojin says from her side of the circle.

Hyunjin looks over at Yeojin in shock, then looks to Hyejoo next to her. “WH- _Why are you guys here!?!”_

“Hi Hyunjin’s little friends!” Lia says waving as she walks over to Hyunjin.

“Oh, is this who you hangout with now Hyunjin? The kid you babysit and her gang?” Ryujin snickers cruelly. “And you’re wondering why I can’t take what you’re saying to me seriously? You’re fucking pathetic.”

Hyunjin’s breath hitches as anger floods through her veins. “You’re the pathetic one,” she growls.

“Top 10 anime battles,” Yeojin murmurs to Hyejoo and Chaewon, before they angrily _SHHHH!_ her. 

“What are you even doing Ryujin?” Hyunjin glares at Ryujin. “Shouting at your girl in front of all of these people at your own party. Are you insane?” Hyunjin retorts.

Heejin speaks up hesitantly. “Ryujin, can we just go. We can talk about this…” 

Ryujin’s smile fades away to a look of hurt and sadness as she looks to her girlfriend at her side. “What? You want to lie to me again and tell me that you’re over it?” 

Hyunjin had been feeling the blood beginning to boil inside her with every passing second, but something about Ryujin calling someone out for being a liar caused something inside Hyunjin to snap.

Hyunjin lets out a hard chuckle. “I’m sorry, how the fuck are you getting to play the victim right now?” 

“Excuse me?” Ryujin glares at Hyunjin once again. The entirety of her party’s guests, save Choerry, are now crowded around the girls. 

“How do you get to call ANYONE else a liar when _you did what you did to me!?”_ Hyunjin shouts.

The room falls completely silent. All eyes are on Ryujin now, waiting for a response in hopes of finally understanding what caused this trio to fall apart.

 “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about-”

“Oh, that’s okay.” Hyunjin snaps back coldly. “Because I remember how it went down.” 

Hyunjin once terrified at the mere thought of confrontation, is finally ready to end this right now. She was tired of all the looks she would get in the hallway ever since she quit soccer. She was tired of not being able to talk to anyone because they’d only ask her about what had happened. And she was so, _fucking_ tired of Ryujin being able to get away with everything just because Hyunjin was too busy feeling sorry for herself.

If Hyunjin learned anything tonight, it was that she deserved better. She deserved for people to know how she was wronged.

“You were my best friend!” Hyunjin hoarses out, her eyes a little watery now. “You were my best friend, and I told you everything. I told you about things I would’ve never told anyone else! And you used it _against me?!_ For _what?”_

Hyunjin laughs but it’s hollow, only sadness coming out of such a normally happy action. A tear drops from her face and she wipes it quickly. “I mean you could’ve just told me you liked her. It would’ve changed everything, you know! Because I _thought_ of you! I was always thinking about you, because you _fucking mattered to me!”_

“Do you even know why?” Hyunjin continues, her voice cracking now as Ryujin stands, terrified of everything coming out of the other girl’s mouth. “Do you even know why I came over to your backyard all those nights ago when you were trying to get that stupid door open?”

Hyunjin doesn’t wait for Ryujin to spit back some smart ass response. 

“It was because Heejin and I almost _kissed_ that night. But I stopped before we did because I didn’t want you to feel like I had betrayed you.” Hyunjin says. “But you know what, maybe I should’ve. Because you did it to me without a second thought.” 

“That’s why you stopped?” Heejin interrupts, the look on her face that of utter bewilderment. “I… I thought you just didn’t like me like that. And when you told me to meet you at the diner as a friend…”

Hyunjin turns to Heejin, her heart aching, ready to finally tell her the truth. 

“I was so in love with you Heejin,” Hyunjin breathes bitterly, the first meaningful words she’s said to her childhood best friend in months. “I waited hours for you at that diner, ready to tell you exactly how I felt because I had fucked up so many times with you before. But this time I was going to get it right. I had flowers and everything.” 

Hyunjin turns to Ryujin. “And you fucking _knew that.”_

It was as if Heejin’s entire world had just been flipped inside out. She had always assumed every ‘friend’ comment was a hint to step back, but when they would have a moment together… Heejin remembers feeling like she was losing her mind. 

The only reason she had even attempted to move on was because Ryujin had confirmed her suspicions in thinking Hyunjin was just leading her on. Ryujin had always, always told her that Hyunjin was just playing with her feelings.

And of course, Heejin believed her… Ryujin was the only person who knew Hyunjin just as well as she did. Ryujin then promised her that she would never treat Heejin the way Hyunjin supposedly was. In those weak and vulnerable moments, she was comforted by what Ryujin had told her.

But now, all Heejin feels is shame.

“Holy shit.” Hyejoo says from her place on the coach, suddenly feeling extremely sympathetic for her babysitter. Hyunjin had gone through the virtual collapse of her social life, yet still came over to the Ha estate everyday like there was nothing wrong. 

Heejin looks at Ryujin, pure devastation on her face. “You… You _knew?_ But when I came over that night you told me...” 

Ryujin throws her hands up in defeat and fumes from her place. _“I was left out!_ All of the fucking TIME I was left out! I’m sorry I got _sooo_ sick of it, that I didn’t want to hear about how it would be if you two got together? So what if Hyunjin was in love with you? _I was in love with you too!”_

“You could’ve talked to us! To _me.”_ Hyunjin says.

“And you could’ve asked me how I felt before anything even happened! It goes both ways.” Ryujin stands her ground.

Hyunjin steps closer to Ryujin, who’s fists are balling up just by their proximity. “No. I’m tired of feeling like I did something wrong. But you? You hurt me because you were just a jealous, insecure, manipulative little _bitch.”_

No one can even react before Ryujin swings at Hyunjin, hitting her with so much force that she stumbles backward. 

Gasps erupt from the crowd as Hyunjin shakes her head, her teeth clenched for a second, before she runs forward, tackling Ryujin to the ground.

Suddenly, a small girl is above the crowd, standing on a nearby table with freshly dyed bright pink hair.

“YERI?” Yeojin, Chaewon and Hyejoo all say at once.

“Oh look little off-brand me!” Lia says, smiling at the elevated girl.

“FIIIIIIGHT!!” Yeri screams at the top of her lungs, spinning her now pink ponytail around like a maniac.

The crowd erupts into chaos as Hyunjin and Ryujin destroy each other. 

Heejin tries to get them off each other, but is roughly tackled by Lia in the process.

“Lia what the fuck!” Heejin says, flailing beneath the cheerleader.

“This is fun! I wanted to join!” The girl responds nonchalantly.

“Get off of me and help!” Heejin screams.

“Ugh you’re so boring, why are they even fighting over you?” Lia says, standing up regardless and trying to get Hyunjin off of Ryujin.

“Okay hold on this is way too insane for me to ignore.” Yeojin says, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She opens Instagram to **@LilPeni$** , and starts a live.

“YOU THOUGHT IT WAS OVER!” Yeojin says, turning the camera so that it’s on the high schoolers pummelling each other on the ground. “IT’S THE SEQUEL TO THE SMACKDOWNVERSE!” she screams into the microphone as her live viewer count begins to exponentially rise. “AND THIS TIME IT’S EVEN BETTER! HORMONAL TEEN GIRLS!” 

Yeojin immediately gets a comment.

**@Haseul98765434567890: It’s Mom! Puzzle break :D**

**@Haseul98765434567890:** **Haha. Where are you?**

Yeojin ignores it, continuing to film the chaos in front of her.

Heejin and Lia are failing miserably to get the girls apart. Lia stands up immediately after a few tries. 

“Ugh, this is so hard. I’m going to get another drink do you want something?” She offers Heejin, who just looks back at her like she has a second head.

“Like I said, so boring.” Lia mumbles before she walks away.

Hyunjin gains the upper hand, punching Ryujin straight in the nose.

“KICK HER ASS HYUNJIN!” Yeojin screams gutturally, still recording the fight, but moving the camera occasionally over to Yeri who was still helicoptering her ponytail around on top of the table.

“GET HER HYUNJIN!” Hyejoo says, Chaewon whooping behind her.

“STOP!” Heejin pleads, as the former co-captains ignore her and continue to sock each other on the floor.

Then like a flash of lightning with no warning, the front door bursts open violently.

 _“KANG YERIM!”_ A grown woman’s voice thunders through the entire home. 

The middle schoolers stand completely frozen. They would all know that voice anywhere. Based on the petrified look Yeri had on her face, she too knew exactly who had just walked through those doors. 

Yeri makes eye contact with her friends from across the room. “Oh shit.” 

And there she is, God herself. President of St. Jihyo’s Presidential Academy’s Parent Teacher Association Irene Kang is at the entrance of the house, complete with a pantsuit despite it being past midnight. With fire in her eyes, she scans the alcohol-smelling living room for her daughter. Her wife, Seulgi, is dressed similarly as she stumbles in. She sports a black pantsuit fitting her body perfectly, a total 180 of the random colorful outfits she wears normally.

“OH MY GOD IT’S THE FBI!” A high schooler shrieks in terror.

“THAT’S RIGHT. AND WE ARE SHUTTING THIS PARTY DOWN FOR UNDERAGE DRINKING AND FOR WHAT I ASSUME INAPPROPRIATE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR.” Irene announces, sending everyone into a panic.

“Yeah! And the music is bad!” Seulgi chimes in from behind her wife.

“Seulgi that’s not a punishable offense…” Irene whispers. “BUT IT SHOULD BE!” she screams turning back to face the frightened teenagers, while Seulgi nods her head. Even Hyunjin and Ryujin have stopped fighting to look at her, their faces bruised and lips bloody.

“Okay I took a few shots and I’m BACK!” Lia says walking into the living room. She stops when she sees the strangers who have disrupted the chaos that may or may not be officers of the LAPD. 

“Um... Not alcohol that would be bad...” Lia trails off, looking everywhere but at Irene who is now sending a death glare her way.  

However, Lia sees Hyunjin on the floor and immediately goes over to help her, making sure she’s alright. Heejin does the same for Ryujin (but only out of guilty obligation). 

Choerry makes her way down the stairs now, confirming the voice she was sure she heard through the bathroom vents. She randomly runs to Irene, hugging her tightly. 

“Thank God.” The student body president says.

“Wait, are you these stupid kids’ moms?” Ryujin asks, holding her head. “You’re not a cop…”

Irene’s eyes flare with the questioning of her authority. “You know what you little punk! I _am_ a mother _,_ but I am also your _worst nightmare_! I know people in high places, sports leagues, AND universities! I also know all of your parents and if you’re thinking, ‘There is no way she knows all of our parents’ then you’ll have to think again RYUJIN SHIN.” Irene spits.

Ryujin gasps then closes her mouth immediately.

“EVERYONE OUT OF HERE. NOW!” Irene barks, and high schoolers en masse flood through the tiny doorway.

Seulgi takes out a roll of stickers that say **ABOVE THE INFLUENCE** out of her bag and begins handing them out to any teenager that walks past her.

“...Fuck you.” Hyunjin spits at Ryujin. Lia helps Hyunjin off the floor, and together, they head towards the door. Heejin watches from the floor, not even sure what to do anymore.

Hyunjin touches her lip, seeing blood on her finger. “Worth it.” 

 _“Absolutely,”_ the head cheerleader nods, taking a sticker from Seulgi with a courteous “thank you” before finally leaving the house.

Now that the rooms have been somewhat cleared, Irene is able to spot Yeri, who has been slowly trying to get off the table without bringing any attention to herself. They make eye contact, and Irene sees Yeri’s blonde hair has now turned bright pink.

 _“PINK? Are you out of your mind!?”_ Irene screams. Yeri lets out a shrill shriek and runs away like a chicken with its head cut off.

“Get the other kids.” Irene commands, separating herself from Choerry before sprinting after Yeri herself.

Seulgi puts an arm around Choerry as she walks over to Hyejoo, Yeojin and Chaewon. 

“So!” Seulgi sings, giving them each a _Drunk Driving_ **_KILLS_ ** _Innocent People_ sticker. “Hoooow was the party?”

***

Yeri, Choerry, Hyejoo, Chaewon, and Yeojin are now in the back of Irene and Seulgi Kang’s black Cadillac Escalade. 

Seulgi eggs the SUV along the residential road. Yeri is quietly crying in fear in the back of the car.

“Let’s play some music!” Seulgi offers to mask the sounds of her daughter’s fearful whimpering. A tenth of a second of radio music plays before Irene slams the power button to turn it off. “Okay…” Seulgi says quietly, feeling like one of the five terrified children in the back.

 _“DO YOU KNOW WHAT PARTIES CAN DO TO YOU?!”_ Irene yells from the passenger seat, breaking the thick silence of the car. “CHILDREN ARE DYING EVERY DAY! BECAUSE OF DRUG ABUSE!” 

“That’s true, you know,” Seulgi joins in randomly with an entirely different voice, like something out of an educational video. “Do you know how many teens die from peer-to-peer drug poisoning? Fifty percent,” she finishes matter-of-factly with a raised-eyebrows nod, while Irene crinkles her eyebrows in bewilderment because she is fairly certain the statistic has absolutely no factual grounds.

“I swallowed a cough drop once. Felt like I O.D.’d,” Seulgi continues with a finger in the air. “Weed is not a gateway drug did you know that?”

“SEULGI DON’T _TELL_ THEM THAT! Anyway,” Irene quickly recovers. “Do you know what even being _around_ drugs can do to your developing brains?!” she practically yells. 

“Yes Mother Superior…” Yeojin mutters jokingly from the backseat.  

The small PTA President hears it, and turns from her seat to look at all of them square in the face.

“YEOJIN. WHERE is your mother?! You know what, I am not even surprised- CHOERRY. I have nothing to say to you because you told your mothers and I think you are a great child. _YERIM. WE WILL BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION AT HOME._ BUT YOU ARE _GROUNDED._ AND _NO_ MORE ARIAN-” 

Irene is interrupted by Yeri suddenly breaking out into loud wails and sobs. “No, no _please_ don’t do it-” 

“NO MORE ARIANA!” Irene declares, sending Yeri to insanity as she sobs like someone just took a shit on her bed.

“This is so fuckin’ awkward,” Yeojin mutters lowly from her seat with wide eyes and a hand muffling her words.

“What were you _thinking?!_ Sneaking out to a house full of _druggies?!?!_ Whose idea was this anyway! I wa-”

Irene stops at the sound of Seulgi suddenly reversing the Escalade into a parking space much sooner than expected. Seulgi keeps doing it multiple times to make the lines align perfectly that everyone in the car is starting to feel sick.

Irene looks around to see that they are not back at Beverly Hills but… in the parking lot of a plaza in front of a Baskin Robbins? “What are you doing!” Irene hisses at her wife.

“She’s sobbing!” Seulgi defends sheepishly from the driver’s seat, quietly redirecting the car to stop for ice cream because their daughter is crying in the back. 

 _“Because we just grounded her!”_ Irene counters aggressively in disbelief.

“Okay well I need to stop at that CVS for some jerky.” Seulgi says with absolutely no explanation.

“O..Okay..” Irene nods.

“Can we go with her,” Chaewon asks weakly, jumping at the attempt to escape.

“NO. YOU’RE STAYING RIGHT HERE. WITH ME.” Irene scolds. “WHERE WAS I. HYEJOO. You are a TROUBLEMAKER and your mothers are clearly not keeping a good enough eye on you!” Irene turns to Chaewon at Hyejoo’s side. “WELL... HMMMMM…” Irene says angrily as she tries to not be so obvious about the fact that she doesn’t know enough about Chaewon to say anything.

But the PTA president is interrupted by Seulgi leaning over the console briefly to plant a kiss on her wife’s cheek before grabbing her purse and leaving the car to buy her jerky.

Irene tries to continue yelling, but her wife’s act of affection has left her blushing, distracted, and unable to form a sentence. “I forgot what I was saying.”

“Gay,” Yeojin blurts lowly. 

“WHAT WAS THAT?” Irene barks.

“I said okay.” 

Choerry is giggling in her seat, while the rest of them, even Yeri with tears all over her face, fight to suppress their laughter. 

 

Hyejoo sighs in relief when she sees Seulgi walking back from the CVS sliding doors to finally drive them all home. She adjusts her blazer and opens the driver’s seat door, then hands various grocery bags to their daughter behind her. “Yerim hold these please.”

Yeri takes the bags, then opens them out of curiosity to see five pints of ice cream and a handwritten note from Seulgi on a post-it she must have grabbed from the counter. 

_“You guys share these in the back when Mom isn’t looking. I love you!”_

***

Jiwoo had slammed the door behind her when Sooyoung followed her up to Hyejoo’s room. The celebrity wouldn’t even respond to Sooyoung when she apologized for fucking up again and again. They had been like this for who knows long, until Jiwoo emerged from the room to announce that the kids had arrived at the front gate.

When they had gone to retrieve them, Jiwoo told security to shut down the party and arranged for all the kids (besides Hyejoo and Yeri) to get rides home from Jinsol. Jungeun had already passed out in the passenger seat the minute she stepped foot in it, so there was no need to worry about any car sickness for the rest of the night.

Once everyone was gone, Sooyoung thought Hyejoo would get reprimanded by her wife. Instead, Jiwoo smothered the girl into her chest and forced their child to let her lay down with her and cuddle. Sooyoung was not invited.

Now two hours had passed as Sooyoung wanders the party’s empty and dirty floor, aimlessly shouting directions at any clean-up worker that came into her sight. She figured getting the party rooms back to normal would distract her from the mistakes she made tonight.

Sooyoung breathes in and heads towards the other end of the party hall at one of their outdoor terraces. She sees someone sitting in one of the soft modern couches, curled into a ball. She is about to yell at them to get out of her house, but she recognizes the woman once she gets closer.

“Jiwoo?”

Jiwoo turns slightly to look at her wife, then pouts and spins back around to look out at the dazzling lights of the city coming from the view below.

Sooyoung approaches her and smooths her dress to sit on a plush couch next to her wife.

“Can you stop ignoring me please.” Sooyoung asks, her tone gentle.

“No.” Jiwoo maintains, still not looking at her wife.

“Jiwoo.” Sooyoung says, moving so that she’s in her lover’s line of vision.

The celebrity finally looks her in the eye. “You _lied_ to me.” 

Sooyoung swallows. “I know…” she cringes. “But it was just a little white lie… You were so busy with everything and I thought it would help you. I didn’t know she… You know, left the house…” 

Jiwoo scoffs. “That’s the whole problem Sooyoung.”

“Well, what was I supposed to tell you?”

“The truth!” Jiwoo exclaims, looking at her wife like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

Sooyoung’s mouth is open, but nothing is coming out. Jiwoo sighs and turns back to the city.

“Please just go. Don’t talk to me or else I’ll spray you with Raid.” 

Sooyoung’s eyebrows furrow. “What? Honey-”

Suddenly, Jiwoo picks up a can of industrial bug spray from the floor and starts shaking it aggressively.

“JIWOO.” Sooyoung says, placing her arm on the can and gently lowering it back to the floor. “I’m so sorry. I know I’ve said that countlessly tonight but I was really...” 

Sooyoung thinks about why she didn’t go check up on her daughter and honestly, it was because she didn’t know how to. Everything had been so perfect on Christmas and afterwards, well, Sooyoung frankly didn’t trust herself in keeping it that way. She knew neglecting her child wasn’t necessarily great either, but what other choice does she have?

“I-I just didn’t want to bother her.” Sooyoung continues, her low, sweet voice sounding exhausted as she tries her best to formulate the words. “She was with her friends, I making my rounds Jiwoo. I thought she would be okay.”

Jiwoo doesn’t look at Sooyoung. “Thinking isn’t the same as doing.” 

“I know.” Sooyoung responds. “I really am sorry. But I know now!” 

“You need to be a little better.” Jiwoo says bluntly, still looking out at the exploding fireworks over Los Angeles.

“...I’m sorry I made you scared.” 

 _Made_ me _scared?_ Jiwoo thinks in disbelief, looking at her wife. _Does she even care about the life she put at risk?_

Jiwoo is still looking away when Sooyoung invites herself to her wife’s couch, joining her and wrapping her arms around her. Jiwoo doesn’t object to it - at least, not verbally.

But she turns to look at Sooyoung, some kind of sincerity behind her fierce brown eyes. Jiwoo can’t help but fall back into them. Must be force of habit. 

Sooyoung brings her wife into her lap, and Jiwoo’s rigid demeanor begins to fall away. 

After all, Jiwoo guesses she can brush this aside, she thinks, relishing the feeling of her wife’s skin on hers in the cold midnight air. 

It’s the holidays. _It’s fine_ , Jiwoo tells herself.

_It’s fine._

“Why are you down here anyway? I thought you were going to sleep in Hyejoo’s bed.” Sooyoung asks by Jiwoo’s ear, changing the subject.

“She kicked me out after 2 hours. She said I was ‘messing up her oxygen flow’ because I was squeezing her too tight. Apparently I’m too clingy.” Jiwoo says, looking at Sooyoung with sadness in her eyes.

Sooyoung chuckles a little, thinking of how affectionate her wife can be. 

“I love when you’re clingy,” the CEO whispers.

Jiwoo crinkles her nose, then turns to look at Sooyoung. “Really?”

Sooyoung smiles as their eyes meet. “Really,” she says, leaning in for a chaste kiss.

***

Jungeun wakes up with the worst hangover she’s ever had in her entire life. 

She groans when she comes to, her head swimming in nausea. “Sol,” she whimpers with a hand over her eyes to block out the over-ocean sunlight streaming in. Still with closed eyes, her hand retreats to Jinsol’s side of the bed only to find it cold. 

The CFO pouts. She’s sure her wife left her a little text on her whereabouts, considerate as Jinsol is not to wake her, but the light from the phone won’t help her migraine. She closes her eyes again.

But the hangover is really starting to make her so hungry that it hurts, as if a tapeworm were eating away at her insides. After five slow minutes of contemplation, she decides to get up. Just for some avocado toast.

Jungeun groans painfully, lifting herself out of bed so dramatically that one would think she’s eighty just based off of the noises alone. 

She grips the railing of her spiral staircase around the glowing blue fish tank with half-open eyes, as bright sunlight streams through the home and makes every white wall shine.

Suddenly, she hears the opening of a cupboard from the kitchen. _Probably Choerry,_ she thinks. 

As she traverses down the staircase, she is able to catch a glimpse of the scene.

Her eyes shoot open and all the hair on her body stands up at the sight of a completely unfamiliar woman with jet black hair rummaging through their cupboards. Her back is turned, and Jungeun has _no idea_ who this intruder is. 

Her heart races in her chest as she tip-toes down the last stairs towards the intruder, reaching to lift a stray cast-iron skillet to bang on her head and knock her out. 

She creeps up behind the woman, raising the giant pan to her head like a baseball bat. Jungeun is now only a foot behind her-

At the sound of one step too loud, the woman turns around right into Jungeun raising a giant pan to slam her with. The unfamiliar woman lets out a very familiar shriek.

“THIEF-”

“OH MY GOD JUNGEUN WHAT ARE YOU _DOING!?”_  

Jungeun’s eyes nearly pop out of their sockets as she screams. It’s Jinsol, Jinsol’s face, but it’s all _wrong -_ it’s not blonde hair anymore, it’s _BLACK_ and it’s- 

_“JINSOL?!?!”_

Jinsol is the closest thing to being in a fetal position while still standing up, in fear of brain damage via her wife with a cast-iron skillet. “It’s me,” the CEO mewls out behind her hands covering her face.

“I’m sorry, oh I’m so sorry honey I thought you were, oh my _God_ ,” Jungeun puts the pan on the granite island her and rubs her wife’s shoulders comfortingly, and her hands can’t help but linger on Jinsol’s freshly dyed black hair. 

Jinsol is looking away like a shy little schoolgirl, adding even more perplexity to the situation at hand. “I wanted it to be a surprise…” she admits tucking dark hair behind her ear. 

“You- You, wh-” Jungeun is stuttering in shock.  In all the years she’s known her wife, since the very moment they’d met, Jinsol had a head of blonde hair. For who knows how long, Jinsol had religiously doused her head in blonde hair dye to maintain the exact same light shade. Even though it obviously wasn’t, Jungeun had subconsciously accepted blonde as Jinsol’s natural hair color. 

“I got it done this morning,” Jinsol is now looking at her, and Jungeun is taking in the sight as a whole. “Do… Do you like it?” Jinsol asks, surprisingly self-conscious with all the blood rushing to her cheeks.

Jungeun’s pupils dilate at the sight. It’s all so odd, and new, but it’s all so… _hot?_

“The kids kept telling me… In the car, that the blonde was “clapped” but I-I can change it back if you want.” Jinsol looks away nervously. 

“Are you _kidding_ me,” Jungeun breathes involuntarily with dark eyes, eyeing her wife up and down. Jinsol looks back at her nervously. “You… you’re so…” Jungeun can’t even find the words, unable to control her speech. 

“What?” Jinsol is smiling, fighting back laughter as the shorter woman in front of her is looking at her in what only can be described as lusting desire. “You like it?” 

Jungeun just pauses, eating Jinsol up with very dark eyes.

 _“Whydidn’tyoudothisearlier,”_ Jungeun suddenly sounds _very_ sexually frustrated. 

Jinsol’s eyes widen. She didn’t expect to get _this_ strong of a reaction. The CEO grins, confidence restored. 

“So you _do_ like it…” Jinsol says in a lower voice, eyeing her needy wife inching closer towards her.

Jungeun’s entire body is now nearly pressed up against Jinsol’s. The woman’s eyelids are hooded as she looks at her wife.

Jungeun leans in seductively, but instead of kissing Jinsol’s skin she brings her lips to her ear. 

“I want you to break my back,” Jungeun whispers. “Like a glowstick…”

Jinsol snorts so loud and bursts into incredulous laughter, completely ruining Jungeun’s intro to what sounds like the beginning of a very bad porno.

“WHAT!” Jungeun defends, red with embarrassment and very judged from her attempt at being less “uptight”. 

Her wife is holding her stomach and nearly doubling over. “What the fuck did you just say?” she says between laughs.

Jungeun is turning more red by the millisecond. “I _SAID-”_

Jinsol cuts her off by closing the gap between their lips. She brings her hands to the small of Jungeun’s back to pull her body back flush against her own, as Jinsol continues to deepen their kissing and Jungeun’s arms move to wrap around Jinsol’s neck. 

Jinsol leaves impatient open-mouthed kisses on the sensitive skin of her wife’s neck, eliciting especially loud high-pitched moans as Jungeun lets her head fall back. Encouraged by Jungeun’s sweet noises, she leaves bites on her wife’s most sensitive spots.

Jinsol turns them around, pressing Jungeun hard against the counter as she lets her hands start to roam. Jungeun grabs her wife’s face and to kiss her again and again, as if addicted to the taste of her lips. 

Jinsol can’t remember the last time she’s seen her wife so desperate to be taken. It was as if only Jinsol could provide what she needed, and it was a major turn on.

Jungeun breaks away, breathless. “Did you know sex is the best cure for a hangover,” she whispers seductively on Jinsol’s lips, letting her fingers tangle through her wife’s black hair.

Jinsol ponders the statement as she continues to kiss her again and again. After a few seconds, she breaks them apart. “That’s not scientifically accurate,” she whispers back with the same sexy tone of voice. 

Jungeun lets out a giddy laugh, smiling into their kisses as Jinsol lifts her wife up onto the kitchen counter. Jinsol breaks the kiss, only to place her mouth on her wife’s neck, slowly moving downward as her wife’s heartbeat increased, fingers tangled in her hair.

Jinsol thinks to herself that she should have dyed her hair a long time ago. 

***

Hyejoo had been relentlessly practicing her _Call of Duty_ skills ever since the epic night of New Year’s last night. She figured it was a great way to spend her last days of winter break. Plus, she'd be damned if she ever let Choerry Kim outdo her at a game ever again.

Hyejoo plops down on the game room’s bean bag chair, placing a few snacks and drinks on the coffee table in front of them. Her mothers were out for the day, tending to their usual responsibilities; so once again it was only Hyunjin and Hyejoo alone in the mansion.

Obviously, Jiwoo and Sooyoung had their doubts about letting Hyunjin come back to work with the whole situation that could easily be interpreted as attempted kidnapping. However, Hyejoo explained in great detail to her mothers that the babysitter had absolutely nothing to do with bringing them to the party. That Hyunjin hadn’t even known they were there.

If she was being honest, she would feel awful if she had cost Hyunjin her only source of income, especially after all she learned about her that night.

Speaking of Hyunjin, the babysitter enters into the game room to join the eighth grader. (Hyejoo always wants to be alone, but Hyunjin has always obnoxiously insisted on never letting the girl be alone in a room for “safety purposes”.) 

“Here you go.” Hyunjin says, opening a soda can. “I got myself one too, I hope that’s okay.” 

Usually, Hyejoo would throw a fit about Hyunjin taking one of the expensive sodas her parents had shipped in from Japan. Today though? Hyejoo decides against it, since she can’t look at Hyunjin or hear her voice without thinking of the pain in her eyes when she watched Hyunjin profess her love, or the sweetness in her voice as she sang along to “Ribs” in the car.

Hyejoo just shrugs. “Sure.”

Hyunjin, a little stunned to Hyejoo’s lack of resistance, doesn’t question it, and instead takes a sip. Her phone pings and she opens the notification, revealing a Snapchat message from Lia. She giggles, and sends a picture of half her face back.

Hyejoo, who normally says nothing pleasant or nothing at all to her babysitter, looks away from the noisy gun game a little. “So are you and Lia dating now or something?”

Hyunjin looks up in surprise at Hyejoo asking her a personal question, not really knowing how to answer since they’ve never talked like this before. “No... We’re just friends.”

Hyejoo nods, not necessarily believing her. She turns her view back to the game. “So you’re talking to people again then?” 

Hyunjin looks over at Hyejoo bashfully, setting her phone down. “Yeah. I… I’m thinking of re-joining the soccer team actually. If they’ll take me.”

“Cool.” Hyejoo says nodding. “What about… Heejin.” 

Hyunjin slumps slightly, trying very hard not to let her obvious sadness trickle through. “I don’t know. I don’t want to reach out.” 

Hyejoo can tell she’s lying. _Poor girl,_ the middle schooler thinks. _Still hung up on Heejin even after everything that happened._

Maybe they just needed a push to talk to each other. Hyejoo makes sure to keep a mental note for any open opportunities.

Hyejoo taps at the controller nervously, working up the courage to finally pause the game. She looks over at her babysitter.

“Hyunjin.” Hyejoo calls dryly. 

Hyunjin looks at the eighth grader. “Hmm?”

“You’re really cool.” 

Hyunjin just stares back in silence, trying to process what Hyejoo has just said to her.

“What?”

“Don’t make me say it again.” Hyejoo snaps, mirroring her mother. “I said you’re pretty cool. Seeing you at the party standing up for yourself. It was great.”

Hyunjin looks like she’s about to cry tears of joy and Hyejoo regrets speaking for a second.

“Thanks, Olivia.” Hyunjin says back with a smile.

“Yeah.” Hyejoo responds, about to unpause the game before making yet another risky decision.

Wordlessly, she throws a stray controller in Hyunjin’s direction as an offer to play with her. Hyunjin is, of course, utterly ecstatic.

The middle schooler goes back to the main menu and shows Hyunjin the buttons. Hyejoo puts the game in Zombie mode and hits start. The first level begins and they make their way through the rounds easily, Hyunjin understanding the importance of her virtual cooperation with Hyejoo immediately. The younger girl didn’t want to admit it, but Hyunjin was the best video game partner she’s had ever had.

Other than Chaewon of course, but still. A pretty great partner indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t be a passive consumer of art… Actively engage with art…  
> a.k.a. this takes a lot of time to plan and execute (especially as busy college students) so we would really appreciate if you left a detailed comment with all your thoughts <3 :D - Cat
> 
> P.S. I know this chapter had little to no Haseul, we planned out all the scenes before she announced her medical leave :’( The next chapter will have lots of Principal Haseul, we promise! 
> 
> I FUCKING LOVE HYUNJIN ANYONE ELSE??? i know yall probably miss viseul and im sorry BUT don’t worry u will be getting your meal very soon. and any type of comment is appreciated really detailed or sporadic ones with no context that are just like WHAT THE HELL they make me giggle. just your support is enough!! also i cant stop listening to any song because of dodaeng i watch that video of them dancing to it 20 times a day. 
> 
> WHOS READY FOR #??? JINSOUL IS MEXICAN - daniela
> 
> Let us know what you think of this chapter in the comments or via social media!
> 
>  
> 
> Twitter: @jiwoorene - daniela  
> @igbtchuuves - cat
> 
> CuriousCat: curiouscat.me/yoojungsua

**Author's Note:**

> find us on twitter
> 
> @jiwoorene (Daniela)  
> @igbtchuuves (Cat)
> 
> ask us things  
> \- curiouscat.me/yoojungsua (Daniela)


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